


Worlds Apart

by 1ucky1ucy



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Jicheol, M/M, Mentioned Leeteuk, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-01-19 10:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12408219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1ucky1ucy/pseuds/1ucky1ucy
Summary: Jihoon isn't in any rush to get to know his soulmate. He already knows for sure they will meet in the future. So what happens when he allows his soulmate to enter his life early?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write a Jicheol soulmate AU, specifically with soulmate markings (shared skin). And since it is Jicheol day, I went ahead and had fun with it.

Jihoon was sitting in front of his computer. He should have been writing, yet he wasn’t staring at the blank page that taunted him. He was staring at the flawless flesh of his forearm. Although he told himself to not dwell on his ill fate too much, Jihoon couldn’t help it. He was never going to meet his soulmate.

He has come to terms with it. As much as he loved his soulmate, they just weren’t meant to be together in this lifetime. 

\----------------------------------------------

His mother thought there was something wrong with him. At a young age, whenever Jihoon played with markers or pens, whatever markings he had gotten on his skin disappeared. It was the oddest of things to happen in a world where you shared your skin with your soulmate. Neither of them could figure what it meant. 

And as much as his mother could learn about the soulmate markings, she never did find out what it meant when marks disappeared. 

Of course the worrying did pass, for his mother, when marking did show up on Jihoon’s skin. Only, another round of disbelief struck her mind as the marking lasted only matter of minutes before disappearing again.

Instead of worrying too much about what couldn’t be changed, his mother decided to settle with the good news of it all. Jihoon had a soulmate, and his soulmate was out there somewhere. She didn’t want her son to grow up alone, like she had to.

In his younger days, Jihoon didn’t care too much about anything that had to do with the soulmate marks. He was too invested in books. The moment he was taught to read, he couldn’t stop reading. His second most favorite place to go to was the library, where he could check out any number of books that he could hold in his arms. His most favorite place was the safety of his own bedroom. Any free moment he had was spent with a book in his hands.

It was when he was 14 when it happened. Jihoon was laying down in his bed, reading yet another book. He was happy to be lost in another world. But a slight searing pain brought him back to reality.

Through a grimace, Jihoon glared at his forearm. 

The kids at school did talk of their soulmate markings, but Jihoon had only heard snippets when his mind wasn’t too lost in his books. He was sure they never mentioned any kind of pain. He was also sure it wasn’t this painful when he was a child. It was a kind of pain he would have remembered, considering how many times random marks used to appear when he was a child.

Placing a bookmark in the spot he was reading, Jihoon gripped at his arm. The pain was bearable, but for it to be happening for the first time, it shocked him to no end. He knew it was inevitable, having his soulmate try to find him through their shared skin. Everyone grew up wanting to get to know their soulmate, wanting to be friends for life.

Jihoon knew it was going to happen, but he had no courage and no initiative to do it first. He also believed, if they were soulmates, nothing would have stopped them from meeting by mere coincidence.   

Staring at his arm, Jihoon watched as the words appeared.

**Aren’t you at all curious?**

Reading the words, Jihoon frowned. Did he want to respond? And what would he even write back? 

As the words faded into his skin, Jihoon contemplated about it. Whether he wrote back or not, the person writing to him was still going to be his soulmate. It wasn’t as if he could trade his soulmate for another.

If he decided to not write back, making their situation awkward, he would have to live with it. If he decided to write back, and somehow still ended making the situation awkward, he would have to live with it. Sighing, with that thought in his mind, Jihoon found a random pen and thought about what to write back.

Carefully thinking about his words, Jihoon wrote back:  _ If we’re soulmates, then what is the rush? _

Looking at his arm, Jihoon watched as the words disappeared. He couldn’t believe he did it. His mother would have cried knowing Jihoon was finally communicating with his soulmate. She had only brought it up every moment she could.

Not wanting to fall into a waiting game with his soulmate, Jihoon placed his pen down and pick up his book again. He didn’t know if his soulmate would even write back and how long it would take. 

On the other hand, the characters of another world were waiting for their own story to be finished. Jihoon’s imaginations of them had them suspended in air, looking at their imaginary watches waiting on him.

Jihoon had only gotten a few sentences in when it happened again. This time he wasn’t as shocked as he was the first time, but it still hurt. He waited the pain out before looking at his arm.

**I’ll be honest, my soulmate, even with my group of friends, I feel very lonely. I thought if there was one person I could talk to, it would be you.**

Jihoon closed his book, knowing he wouldn’t be reading it anymore that night. He took his time, thinking to himself if he ever felt lonely. In one sense he was alone, considering how he didn’t have many real life friends. And in another sense, Jihoon had made many friends with all the books he had read.

If he was ever feeling upset, Jihoon knew he could turn to books. He wanted to insist his soulmate to read more, but he also knew how insensitive it would be. If Jihoon had learnt anything through reading, it was that every person was uniquely different. Everyone had their own take of the world, and their own ways with dealing with what was going on. Who was he to judge his soulmate, other than the fact that he was his soulmate’s other half.

Even if Jihoon wanted to wait on getting to know his soulmate, he could tell his soulmate needed the communication between them. In all the words he had read through the years, his soulmate’s seeped with sadness. 

Taking up his pen again, Jihoon fumbled with words in his mind, trying to make sure he knew what he was going to respond with first. When he was satisfied, Jihoon started writing:  _ Tell me then, what is bothering you? _

The words disappear, and Jihoon waits. 

**I guess I’m just jealous. All my friends have been chatting with their soulmates, and we’ve yet to even exchange names.**

Jihoon scoffs at how ridiculous his soulmate was being. Yet he couldn’t help but want to make it up to his soulmate. As much as he wanted to wait to get to know his soulmate, he didn’t want to make his soulmate suffer during that time.

Taking up his pen again, Jihoon was ready for replying:  _ Are you ready to tell me your name then? _

It didn’t take too long for the reply to come. Holding his forearm, to try to contain the pain, Jihoon watches as the words appear.

**Choi Seungcheol. And yours? Unless it’s okay with you that I refer to you as ‘my soulmate’.**

Rolling his eyes at the last bit, Jihoon couldn’t believe how flirtatious his soulmate was being. Getting over the flirting, his chest felt like exploding at the sight of his soulmate’s name. He didn’t mind his soulmate being a boy or girl, but to finally find out was nerve-racking. 

Jihoon hesitated to write his own name, the pen slightly shaking in his hand. What if this Choi Seungcheol didn’t want his soulmate to be a boy. It was another worry Jihoon had tried to avoid when waiting on getting to know his soulmate, what if his soulmate didn’t want him.

Sure, his soulmate was being sweet right now, but would it change when he found out who Jihoon was in real life?

Questions upon questions filled Jihoon with doubt.

Anxiety ate away at Jihoon as he twirled the pen in his hand. Sitting up from his laying position, Jihoon crossed his legs and placed his chin in the palm not being used to write. While he ignored the forearm he was using to converse with his soulmate, Jihoon thought about all his other issues. 

Thinking about it, he could see how ridiculous he was being, it was just giving his soulmate his name. It shouldn’t be this hard! But giving his name out was such a big step to Jihoon. He barely made any friends throughout his life - and not that any of them stayed very long to be long-term friends anyways, - and to have someone know his name on a personal level was life changing. 

Before he could get any further in his thoughts, a pain seared through his forearm. Lifting his head, Jihoon brought his arm out to see what his soulmate had to say.

**My soulmate, no matter what your name is, you are mine. No matter what happens in the future, bad or good, I will learn to love you. Although, if there is another reason for the late reply, just know you can’t get rid of me. I’ll be here with you for the rest of our lives.**

Reading Seungcheol’s words calmed Jihoon. Of course the anxiety still sat at the bottom of his stomach, but it was easier to deal with knowing his soulmate was so caring.

Placing a hand over his racing heart, Jihoon breathed in and out to calm himself down. He was done making his soulmate wait. With still shaking hands, Jihoon was determined to write his own name down.

Carefully choosing his words, Jihoon settled with what sounded genuine to himself. Which made things pretty simple.

_ Sorry, I’m not really good with conversing. My name is Lee Jihoon. _

He watched as the words sunk in. Plopping back down on his bed, Jihoon groaned at how fast his heart was still beating.

Having conversations, talking to ones soulmate, making a deeper connection, it puzzled Jihoon to no end. How did people do this? It is seen as so simple, but all Jihoon could think about was all the things that could turn out wrong.

All his nightmares rushed up to the frontlines and stood up against his cowering form.

Jihoon was brought back to reality when the dull pain returned to his forearm. Looking on, he waited for Seungcheol’s words to form.

**My soulmate, Lee Jihoon, Jihoonie, Hoonie, Hoon, Ji, my whole world. It’s only our first conversation of many more to come, and already you have made me the happiest person alive.**

It was too much for Jihoon. His mom had shown him motherly affection, but he had never received affection from any other person. It was too new, too raw, too real. It was something Jihoon had never known he needed. 

Letting the fear slide away, Jihoon crouched in a fetal position and let himself realize he was known and seen in the world. Tears came of their own accord as Jihoon accepted the acknowledgement of being alive. 

\----------------------------------------------

_ Cheol, I know you’re one year older than me, but I swear, sometimes I feel like I’m talking with a child. _

**:( I just want to read something romantic from you, is that too much to ask?**

_ Did you just write a sad face at me? _

**Hoonie Hoon, my lovely soulmate, even if you don’t say it, I know you love me.**

_ If you already know then why do you ask? _

**...**

_ I love you. I hate how much you’ve become my world, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, I couldn’t live any other way. Seungcheol, do you even know what you do to me? I become such a fool when I think of you.  _

**My sweet foolish soulmate. I love you.**

_... _

**;p**

\----------------------------------------------

After a year of writing to each other through their shared skin, the pain had become bearable. It had become another part of living life. To see the beauty, you had to endure some pain.

Another year passed and Jihoon couldn’t believe how much his life had changed since he started writing with Seungcheol everyday. A huge chunk of his time was still spent reading, but Seungcheol took up every other spare moment. 

As much as Seungcheol wanted to write with Jihoon every moment of the day, he also knew how important it was for him to read. So when Jihoon started to fall in love with writing, Seungcheol couldn’t even get mad at losing more time with the determined Jihoon. Especially when it was Seungcheol, himself, who helped Jihoon find his calling.

**You know, since you read so much, and reading all the things you’ve sent me, you should actually try writing your own story.**

_ Write my own story? I wouldn’t even know where to begin. _

**Start with a beginning, then continue with the middle, and finish with an end.**

_ Haha, you think you’re so smart don’t you. _

**Seriously though, you’ve read enough to get in the flow of writing. Everything else you can learn on the way. No one ever started out amazing, they had to go through a lot of practice and fails.**

_ Do you really think I could do well with it? _

**I think you are going to be outstanding Jihoon! Just think about it for now, if it’s something you seriously want to do for the rest of your life, it should be thought out.**

_ You know me too well, thank you Cheollie. _

**I love you :)**

_ Love you too :p _

\----------------------------------------------

**Jihoon, I’ve had enough of it today.**

_ What do you mean? You’ve pushed and pushed me to find my dream job, yet you’re just going to ignore my helping you? _

**I didn’t push you, I helped guide you to what already made you happy. You’ve had books around you all your life. Even before you knew it, you were a born writer. I, on the other hand, didn’t have anything like that. I don’t know what I want to do.**

_ And that is exactly why I want to discuss it with you.  _

**I get it enough from my parents, my teachers, my friends, I really do not want it from you too.**

_ Fine! Live as a bum then Choi Seungcheol! _

**As long as you know that your soulmate is a bum then it’s okay! Go and write, or read, do something productive!**

_ Talking with my soulmate, who I want to support, is productive! _

\----------------------------------------------

It wasn’t the first and only argument they had. Somedays it was huge leaving them to not talk with each other for days, and other days it was small and the one who was wrong apologized. As much as it was Seungcheol apologizing and being the first one to write back, Jihoon also had his shares of faults. 

Jihoon thought they would have skirted around their wrongdoings, yet they learnt from them and continued to discuss them in the future. Their conversations were informative, open ended, and eye opening. Never in his mind did Jihoon think a relationship would be like this, but he loved it. He loved everything about Seungcheol.

\----------------------------------------------

**Hey, Ji, I have something I need to tell you.**

It was pretty late already, and Jihoon was still writing away at his computer. The pain searing through his skin made him stop. He would have thought Seungcheol would have been asleep. If he was up this late, wanting to talk about something, it must have been important. Taking the pen he kept near him always, Jihoon wrote back.

_ It’s pretty late, Cheol. What’s up? _

**Someone confessed to liking me today. Is that even possible, especially since we all have our own soulmates? Why did this person have to put doubts in themselves, and why did they have to make me feel like this.**

A cold sweat broke through Jihoon’s skin. Someone likes his soulmate...

He wanted to overreact without even hearing the full story. He wanted to scream at whoever made Seungcheol feel whatever way he was. He wanted to cling on to his soulmate and never let go.

**Hoonie, I did say no. It makes me wonder though. If this person is capable of overcoming the soulmate markings, what if that happens with us? What if one day one of us decides we don’t care about everything we’ve built up? What if one day one of us decides to call it quits and never writes anything ever again?**

With every sentence Jihoon read he started to shake with anger and fear. What was his soulmate saying? He would never want to lose Seungcheol. How could Seungcheol even think of it?

_ Never, Seungcheol. Don’t you even dare think of it anymore. You are mines and I am yours. Nothing is going to change that fact. Our fate was written with forever in it. Nobody will be able to take me away from you. I love you too much to lose you. _

**Jihoon. My soulmate. I love you. I hope you know you will never lose me.**

Jihoon didn’t know how much longer he would have to wait to meet Seungcheol, but he wanted to hold on to him right now. He wanted to assure his soulmate that nothing would ever come between them. He couldn’t sleep because he was writing earlier, but now he couldn’t sleep because he was overcome with a new ache for Seungcheol.

\----------------------------------------------

**Hoonie, I’m warning you right now. My friend is going to be taking over my arm to write to you. I have no control over it.**

Jihoon stared at his arm with suspicion. Seungcheol’s words did seem to become hurried scribbles at the end. But why would his friends want to talk to Jihoon? If he had questions, Seungcheol could have answered anything. Seungcheol knew just about everything in Jihoon’s life.

The words disappeared and just a quick another message arrived.

**Lee Jihoon, I’m Yoon Jeonghan, your soulmate’s best friend. I have only one thing to ask of you. If my soulmate and I are not around to torture Seungcheol, you have to. No matter what. Coerce him into doing cute things, remind him to tie his shoelaces when he doesn’t have any, don’t let him kiss you unless he begs!**

Blinking down at the words, and the style it was written in, he could definitely tell it wasn’t Seungcheol anymore. He didn’t know how seriously he should take Jeonghan’s words. Who asks this stuff out of people? But he did self-proclaim himself as Seungcheol’s best friend. Deciding to entertain Jeonghan, Jihoon grabbed his pen.

_ Don’t worry Yoon Jeonghan, best friend of my soulmate. Not only will I do all that you have asked, I will do even more than that. I’m going to make sure he can’t ever leave my side, even if that means the both of us are using the same bathroom stall. I am going to ask that he kisses and hugs himself every morning and night from me when I’m not there. And he won’t ever have a dull moment when I am writing to him constantly telling him how much I love him. _

Jihoon’s face flushed at the thought of Seungcheol’s best friend reading his words. He wanted to prove he was going to take care of his soulmate. No matter what it took.

**Okay. Okay. I approve of you. I like how you think. You guys are cute together. Oh and Seungcheol wants his arm back. He read your words. I’m pretty sure he wants to tell you how much he loves you. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him to take care of you.**

\----------------------------------------------

**My soulmate, my life, my whole world.**

Jihoon smiled, looking down at his forearm as the words appeared. Seungcheol was such a sap, but he was Jihoon’s sap, and he loved it. Smiling as he shook his head a bit, he reaches over for his pen.

_ Cheolie Cheol, you’re in a good mood today. Did something good happen? _

**You, you, and you. Everything I do is for you. I know what my dreams and goals are now.**

_ That is exciting!! Don’t keep me waiting, tell me! _

**:) I’m going to build you a house, from scratch, with my architectural design. I’m gonna go to school for architecture.**

_ I love it already. I’m so proud of you!  _

**You’re going to have your own writing room in the library. And of course my office will be right next door, so I can visit you when I miss you. I’ll have the kitchen near by so I can cook you food when you’re hungry and don’t feel like making yourself something to eat.**

_ You’ve thought of everything :) _

**Where should we put the baby’s room? Otherwise we could always have a guest room we can turn into a baby’s room when we decide we’re ready.**

_ Do you think we’re going to have time for a child, if we’re so busy with our jobs? _

**Of course we’ll have time! Once you become a famous author, I won’t have to worry about working too much. I’ll take care of our children. And you’ll read to them, they’ll love it.**

_ Children? Cheol, how did it jump from child to children? _

**If it’s with you, I wouldn’t mind more than one. They’ll grow up with the best parents ever.**

_ You better learn how to change a diaper! _

**;)**

_ :p _

\----------------------------------------------

**How was your first day of college? Did you make any friends?**

_ Everyone was so intimidating. They all stared down at me with their judging eyes. I couldn’t do it Cheol, I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to anyone. _

**It’s fine, Ji. You can try tomorrow, and if it doesn’t work out tomorrow you can try the day after that. If it doesn’t work out at all, then it’s okay. It’ll be me and you against the world. Plus some of my clinging friends. But as long as you and I are together, we’ll be fine.**

_ You and me against the world. I like that. _

**;) Forget about the people for now, did you like all your classes?**

_ Sitting there, listening to the professors talk so passionately about their subjects, was ethereal. It was so different from past classes I’ve taken. It was great, everything about it was just so great. I’ve learnt so much already in the first day. _

**I knew you would love it. Learning and broadening your horizon, no matter how quiet you are about it, is something you thrive for.**

\----------------------------------------------

**Hoonie, we should talk about it.**

Jihoon read the words and watched as they disappeared. His heart pulsed irregularly and kept going at a fast pace. He could already guess what Seungcheol wanted to talk about. They’ve been skirting around the subject for a while.

He was nearly 20, while Seungcheol was 21. They were well into their college days, and they had yet to meet each other in real life. Seungcheol was ready, it was all he wanted. Jihoon knew very well of this.

But Jihoon wasn’t so sure of himself anymore. He knew he loved Seungcheol with all his heart. Nothing was ever going to change that fact. But what if Seungcheol took one look at him and decided it was all wrong. Jihoon didn’t want to take that chance. He didn’t want to lose someone who was so important to him.

**My sweet sweet foolish soulmate, whatever worries you have on your mind, nothing is ever going to make me run from you. I love you for you, not for appearances.**

_ Is it so important, for us to be meeting right now? Especially when we should be concentrating on our schooling? _

**Ji, half my friends have met their soulmates, and are working towards having a life together already. All I want is for you to be near me, I want us to be together.**

_ I... I don’t think I can right now, Seungcheol. I do want to meet you, but I... I can’t. _

**Lee Jihoon. I cannot believe you right now. By now, after knowing each other for six years, you should know how much I love you. No matter what happened, I would never choose anything or anyone else over you. How many times do I have to say it. I love you. I love YOU. I LOVE YOU!**

\----------------------------------------------

**Ji.**

Jihoon was up late writing again. He hadn’t been chatting with Seungcheol for a while. They were in a very awkward situation, and Jihoon didn’t know how to fix it. He wanted to, since he missed writing to Seungcheol so much, but all Seungcheol wanted to talk about was getting together.

Something was up though, Seungcheol’s writing was sloppier than normal.

_ Seungcheol? _

**I’m going to find you. We’re going to be together forever.**

Looking at Seungcheol’s writing, Jihoon wondered if he was drunk.

_ Are you drunk, Cheol? _

**So what if I am? You’re not here to make me stop, or to watch me, or to join me. You’re not here at all.**

Jihoon’s heart ached at his soulmate’s words. It was true, if Jihoon was there he could have at least been taking care of him.

_ Go to sleep Seungcheol. You’re not thinking right. _

**I’ve already made up my mind. I’m going to find you. Cause I love you.**

Sighing, Jihoon put down his pen. He wasn’t going to write back. Their conversations tended to go in circles and he didn’t have the heart to do it, especially when Seungcheol was drunk. 

\----------------------------------------------

**Ji, I get it. I do. You’re scared. Knowing of your soulmate is different from actually being with your soulmate. Things are bound to change a bit when we do get together. We’re not going to be writing to each other, dealing with the pain of our words appearing and disappearing, We actually have to communicate with talking. I know how insecure you are with it. But I’m going to there with you, every step of the way. I’m never going to leave you.**

\----------------------------------------------

**Lee Jihoon. Why do you have to be so difficult? Why do you have to do this to me? Why did I have to get such a difficult soulmate? Why did I have to fall in love with such a difficult person?**

\----------------------------------------------

**You say you love me but you can’t even face me. You can’t even face me. Do you even love me anymore? Did you even love me at all?**

\----------------------------------------------

**Hoon Hoonie, my lovely foolish soulmate. I miss you too much. Can’t I just see one word from you?**

\----------------------------------------------

**In case you forgot. I do still love you. You own my heart and soul. I’m not going anywhere.**

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon was restless. He couldn’t sleep, he could barely eat, he wasn’t doing much other than writing and reading. It was the only time he felt any other emotions rather than sadness. The thought of seeing Seungcheol in real life scared him. 

He knew it made no sense. Having his soulmate with him should have been a great thing. He should have been over the edge with happiness, beside himself with giddy, over the moon with the thought of being together forever with his soulmate. 

But he was scared. He was afraid Seungcheol would try to get to know him and think of him as fake. He was fearful of Seungcheol going against his own words, and backing away from being together with Jihoon.

And he did know. He was kind of already losing Seungcheol. 

\----------------------------------------------

After much thinking, Jihoon was going to do it. All he knew was he couldn’t lose Seungcheol. He knew his soulmate would wait for him, but he was done making Seungcheol suffer. 

It excited him to no end, having thoughts of finally getting to see seungcheol. He sat at his desk, tapping his pen against his temple, contemplating it. Jihoon despised himself for waiting so long to be okay with meeting. He could have been spending all these painful lonely days with his soulmate.

_ Seungcheol. _

He hadn’t been initiating any conversations in a while, he hoped it would shock Seungcheol enough to have him write back faster.

Jihoon waited and waited, yet nothing had come within the first few minutes. He was sure Seungcheol wasn’t too busy, it was pretty late at night already. Jihoon was sure his soulmate would have been at home, buried in his homework.

_ Cheol, can we talk? I have something important to tell you. _

It was a few minutes later when the reply came.

**Ji, there’s something I need to tell you.**

_ I have something to tell you too :) _

**This is serious, Jihoon. I don’t know how else to say this other than to come out and say it. I have some friends who are good at searching for people. I asked for their help to look for you. You didn’t show up anywhere in the databases. According to my friends, Lee Jihoon doesn’t exist. My friends even showed me their searches for proof. So if you aren’t Lee Jihoon, then who are you?**

Jihoon sits there, stunned speechless. What is going on, what did he mean when he said Lee Jihoon doesn’t exist? He’s only been using that name all his life, how can there be no traces of him anywhere?

_ What are you saying? Cause for all I know, I’ve been Lee Jihoon for all my life. Seungcheol, why are you doing this? _

**Do you really think I would play around like this? I can’t believe you would lie like this. Was anything you told me real? Even these last few weeks, it was the reason why you wouldn’t meet me. You were scared I would have found out the truth. Tell me, was it fun to make me fall in love with someone you created? Was it fun to make a fool out of me for these last six years?**

Tears brimmed Jihoon’s eyes. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. Through a blurry vision, Jihoon wrote back.

_ Everything, and I mean every detail, down to my name was and is real. I am Lee Jihoon, your soulmate. I fell in love with you for you. And I thought you fell in love with me for me.  _

\----------------------------------------------

After that night, Seungcheol didn’t write back. 

Jihoon’s mind wouldn’t let him even though his whole heart was yelling at him to make any mark for Seungcheol to see how alive and real he was. He wanted to do anything and everything to prove to Seungcheol how he was the Lee Jihoon he fell in love with.

But he could also tell how set Seungcheol was in believing whatever he was believing in at the moment. He knew he couldn’t change Seungcheol’s mind.

\----------------------------------------------

**Lee Jihoon**

Sitting up, Jihoon turns on his desk lamp. He saw Seungcheol’s words before they disappeared into nothing.

**There’s something I have to tell you.**

Taking his pen off the desk, Jihoon thought about what to write back. Only his heart was beating rapidly and there was cold sweat along his neck. He didn’t have to think too much, as the pain returned to his arm.

**I found out why you’re not in any database. I know why I can’t find you.**

Jihoon really couldn’t hold himself back anymore, everything he’s been hiding wanted to come out. 

_ Seungcheol, do you know how much I’ve missed you. This searing pain that tells me I’m alive. The you that tells me I’m worthy of anything. I want to see you and to be able to hold you. I don’t care what the database is telling you, we will find each other. We’re soulmates. _

**Ji. We’re never going to meet each other in this lifetime. We may be soulmates, but we’re never going to be together. We’re not even on the same world as each other’s.**

_ Just tell me where you live. I’ll come find you. _

**Jihoon, do you not understand what I’m trying to tell you. Take this literally when I say we’re from different worlds.**

_ Stop messing around, Cheol. It’s not funny. _

**I’ve looked into it. I found people who have been in the same situation. Ji, you don’t exist in my world. I’m pretty sure if you looked into it, I don’t exist in yours either.**

\----------------------------------------------

So Jihoon did look into it. He had his own source of looking into databases of people in the world. Countless days and hours later, Jihoon slumped himself against his bookshelf and forced himself not to cry. 

There was no Choi Seungcheol in his world.

And of course it only set off Jihoon in search of the truth. He had to know what was going on. He looked into soulmate markings, searched and studied everything he could about them. Kind of like what his mom did when he was young.

His findings turned darker the further in he went. Tales of lost soulmates, journals of having soulmates on different worlds, trafficking kids into other galaxies. Was Seungcheol telling the truth?

After much thought, Jihoon decided he had to talk to his mom. 

One look on his face and she knew why he had showed up on her doorstep. It was only after settling down with coffee did she tell him her tale.

It was a short one. They weren’t from this world. Her true soulmate did love her, but he loved her a little too much, leaving bruises on her heart and skin. So when she found out she was pregnant, she found a way out. More than her love for her soulmate, she loved their child and she didn’t want her child to live that life. She knew if she was to run away, it would have to be so far away no one would be able to find them.

With the help of a friend, she traveled across the galaxy and landed on this planet.

\----------------------------------------------

If Jihoon didn’t believe Seungcheol’s words before, he did now. They were from different worlds. Worlds apart.

\----------------------------------------------

_ How could fate be so cruel? _

**The love of my life, my whole world, my soulmate. I don’t know what to do. What do we do?**

_ The father, who I’ve never met, tortured my mother. She found a one-way ticket for us to get out of the situation. Only, she didn’t know I would be losing you too. _

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon was sitting in front of his computer. He should have been writing, yet he wasn’t staring at the blank page that taunted him. He was staring at the flawless flesh of his forearm. Although he told himself to not dwell on his ill fate too much, Jihoon couldn’t help it. He was never going to meet his soulmate.

He has come to terms with it. As much as he loved his soulmate, they just weren’t meant to be together in this lifetime. 


	2. Worlds Apart To Be Continued ...

“Are you... Choi Seungcheol?”

  
  


To Be Continued...


	3. Worlds Apart: Running Across the Galaxy to Find You

_Seungcheol. My mom. She passed away._

**Ji.**

**Ji, I’m so sorry.**

_She was my only family. The only person who meant anything to me in this world._

And he meant it. The only other person who meant the whole world to Jihoon was on another planet.

\----------------------------------------------

The first few months, after reality came down on him, were hard. Everything felt broken. His hands couldn’t type, his mind wouldn’t think, his legs didn’t want to take another step, and his heart didn’t feel any emotions. Even if Jihoon was alive, he wasn’t really living.

There was no one to make sure he was feeding himself, no one to lecture his bad habits of lying in bed day in and day out. Jihoon couldn’t even remember the last time he took a shower. Staring at his useless hands, Jihoon knew he didn’t care enough to do anything. What was the point of living when his reason for living was gone.

Seungcheol had stopped writing to him, barely trying with any kind of greeting.

Jihoon was too heartbroken to even try, it was hopeless in the end anyways.

\----------------------------------------------

His mother’s caretaker suddenly called him one day out of the blue. Jihoon knew the caretaker wouldn’t have bothered him unless it was necessary, so he picked up. The moment he heard it was an emergency, Jihoon dropped everything. Not that he had much going on at the moment anyway. He rushed to her without any further thoughts.

Jihoon knew he should have never left his own mother, but she had found someone else to love, someone who lost their soulmate at an early age too. Even then, Jihoon should have persisted to stay. Who would have thought she was going to lose another soulmate, this time to cancer.

Getting to her in time, Jihoon sat by her bedside for the rest of his stay. Not daring to sleep, as every moment was now precious. Jihoon wanted to spend the remainder of their time together, remembering her for all her goodness.

When she had awoken to find Jihoon by her side, her smile woke something in Jihoon. He felt alive again. They took all the time they needed to whisper their fond memories to each other. Then the two became serious, and she told Jihoon she had something important to tell him.

“Lee Sungmin,” she said, “You have to find him. He can help you find your soulmate.”

\----------------------------------------------

His mother’s words confused Jihoon to no end. What was he to do with the information? Did he really want to go and find this Lee Sungmin? Would this man help him find someone who lived on a completely different world? Even if his mother wanted him to trust this man, Jihoon was cautious of what could happen.

Plus, Jihoon wasn’t sure he was in the right state of mind to be making any decisions. He had lost Seungcheol and now he had lost his mother too. If he was to do anything, Jihoon feared something could go terribly wrong.

Maybe it was all just an excuse though. In all honesty, Jihoon felt comfortable enough to lay in bed and not have to move a finger all day. Who knows what kind of troubles he would have to put himself through to find this Lee Sungmin. And even if Jihoon did find the man, it didn’t guarantee him a way to Seungcheol.

Jihoon wasn’t ready for another round of disappointment. Having his mother pass away in his arms already destroyed him.   

\----------------------------------------------

Light was shining brightly in his eyes one morning, and Jihoon’s chest wouldn’t stop hurting. He was in so much pain. Curling up, Jihoon tried to hold himself together. Even with an invisible hand squeezing the life out of his heart, Jihoon didn’t want to succumb to taking his own life.

Thinking of how long and lonely it was bound to be made unwanted tears trinkle out of his already irritated eyes. Jihoon was fed up with all the emotions he was dealing with, he didn’t bother to wipe away the fresh tears.

Turning over in bed, Jihoon fell back to sleep.

When Jihoon wakes up later that day, it’s already dark out. He wanted to deny the pain he was feeling on his left arm, but he couldn’t. He hadn’t felt it in a long time, and the unexpectedness was enough to shock him. With much confusion, Jihoon turns on his bedside lamp. Bringing his arm in front of him, he wondered if it would happen again or if he was just dreaming it.

But it was most definitely not a dream. The pain he once learnt to endure had come back. After so long of not having it happen daily, Jihoon wondered how he had dealt with it in the past. Pushing those thoughts aside, Jihoon’s heart raced as he watched words appear on his arms.

**Ji.**

Messy handwriting was what he was receiving. Jihoon wanted to be mad at the obviously drunk Seungcheol, yet he knew he had no right to say anything at this point. It didn’t stop Jihoon, though, from having tears flow freely after seeing those messy letters appear on his arm.

**Jihoonie.**

Jihoon almost wanted to write back. Even if it was to swear at Seungcheol for getting himself so drunk. In the end he knew it would have been pointless. Who was he to care so much for Seungcheol, especially when he couldn’t even be there for him in person.

In deep frustration, Jihoon angrily raked his hands through his hair.

\----------------------------------------------

For an unknown countless numbers of nights, Jihoon cries himself to sleep. His unending pattern of life blurred together.

Day after day, week after week, eventually Jihoon becomes sick of it all. Despite how dramatic his life had changed when Seungcheol’s words appeared, he still had a life before it all.

And after a long slumber, Jihoon knew he had to do something about his situation. He couldn’t continue living the way he had been.

On a cold morning, at the beginning of winter, Jihoon woke up and he knew things were going to change. He started with the piles of trash everywhere. With a new dedication, his entropy way of life was going to end. It had to, Jihoon was tired of looking at the same scene of mess every day.

When Jihoon was done emptying his place of trash, he wiped everything down in hopes of getting rid of all the dust building up. Even after these small chores, his environment was already looking livable again.

Looking at his piled up sink, Jihoon knew it couldn’t be helped. He had to suck it in and just do it. Sighing, he stepped up to the counter and started soaping up the untouched sponge. While cleaning, Jihoon started piling up more trash he was making and finding. At the sight of it all, Jihoon wanted to cry at how clean it was but also for how much he still had to do.

After a second round of taking out full bags of trash, Jihoon decided he had to take a shower. He was full of sweat and he was sure he smelt of it too.

In the shower, all alone with his thoughts, Jihoon couldn’t believe what he had achieved in one day. A small smile grew on his lips, glad to know he was still capable of taking care of himself without help. When all the grime washed away, Jihoon finally felt like a human being.

\----------------------------------------------

Despite coming back from his slump, Jihoon was not ready to start writing again. While thinking of his past work, and any new ideas, all he could think of was Seungcheol.

To give himself a break, Jihoon decided to immerse himself in his other favorite hobby. He was going to inhale every book possible under the sun. Thus began his infatuation of many trips to the library. Jihoon was seen between rows of books at least twice a week. When Jihoon had found any and all the books that had stirred anything in him, he would go back home with armloads and settle in.

Nothing else mattered to Jihoon other than to live long enough to finish his new life goal. Which was to read all the books in the world.

\----------------------------------------------

Late into the night, Jihoon was engrossed with one of his many novels. He may have been tired, but his curiosity of what was going to happen next was winning over the need to sleep.

While he read, it couldn’t be helped, Jihoon thought of ideas to write. Reading made Jihoon anticipate any future work he would be doing. He wasn’t ready just yet, but when he was he knew he would be typing away with a passion.

Jihoon was happily reading when it happened. His already racing heart pulsed irregularly, and continued to thump against his chest. The blood drained from his face as this was all too familiar.

A pain grew on his arm, disturbing his peaceful night of reading. Closing his eyes to endure the pain, Jihoon groaned in frustration. After all that had happened, this was not something Jihoon had been expecting.

**Aren’t you at all curious?**

Jihoon scrunched his face up in frustration. How- how dare Choi Seungcheol do this to him after all this time? There was no way Jihoon was going to allow himself to write anything back. Seungcheol had made it very clear he didn’t want to keep talking. So why should Jihoon entertain the boy from another world.

**I know this is all pointless, but everything that has happened seemed like a dream. No matter what I do, I can’t go a day without having to know if you’re real or not. Or if I’m driving myself crazy with a hallucination.**

Reading Seungcheol’s words brought back the pain Jihoon had pushed away. He wished it was just that, a hallucination. Jihoon would have rather lived knowing Seungcheol was not real, then to know this was all real and not even be able to meet him.

\----------------------------------------------

One night, after a long day of reading, a name popped up into Jihoon’s mind.

Lee Sungmin.

Once the idea was there, Jihoon couldn’t stop thinking about it.

And to be honest, hearing from Seungcheol again made Jihoon stuck in daydreams of what could have been. He never allowed himself to before, knowing how unsafe it would have been. Reading Seungcheol’s words though, Jihoon wanted to know what it was like to have Seungcheol in front of him. Even in daydreams Jihoon knew it would have been amazing.

Then he remembered the name his mother told him of. Lee Sungmin.

Knowing he wouldn’t be getting any more sleep that night, Jihoon made a pot of coffee and started his research. Sitting in front of his laptop, all the tricks he had learnt long ago came back to him.

Just searching the name Lee Sungmin brought up nothing. Coming up with no results Jihoon realized he was going to have to get creative. He added related words that could possibly help further his research.

\----------------------------------------------

This went on for days and days. Jihoon went deeper and deeper into the internet world, sometimes finding himself on a thread of the dark web. There were times when Jihoon felt like he was getting somewhere, only to have the page he was on to crash and never show up on his history list.

The whole prospects of it all frustrated Jihoon to no end. To almost have something and only to have it disappear in front of him again and again. Everything Jihoon was going through in the recent days irritated him, making him almost want to throw away all he had been working on.

A few times Jihoon did decide to throw in the towel and forget it all, then the thoughts of Seungcheol drifted in and Jihoon knew he couldn’t do it. He marched back to his laptop, even if he felt like sulking.

Deeply sighing, he knew he was at least going to try everything he had before he surrendered. The Jihoon he was changing to be didn’t give up.

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon was thankful for the changes happening in him. Because he finally caught a break. He found something. A thread that didn’t disappear after a second of clicking on it, and it seemed to have actual people writing out about their own experiences.

Too scared to lose the page, Jihoon brought his laptop around with him wherever he went. And wherever he went, he read the thread thoroughly, not wanting to miss any information. The endless amount of stories shocked him. Stories, not so strange anymore, were similar to his.

Deep into a story of where the writer was actually part of child trafficking, Jihoon found the name Lee Sungmin. Apparently Lee Sungmin helped the writer return to their soulmate on their original world. So how was this story floating around here?

Goosebumps constantly rose on Jihoon’s body as he continued to read story to story. And as he got deeper and deeper, more mentions of Lee Sungmin came up.

The further Jihoon read, though, he felt like he wasn’t going to get anywhere. Nothing was leading him to ways of finding Lee Sungmin.

Jihoon stretched his back, rolled his shoulders, and shook out his fingers. He was on the 37th page, having read from the very beginning, and he was determined to finish reading this page before he made another pot of coffee.

Not finding anything on the current page he was on, Jihoon stood up with his laptop and walked over to his small kitchen. Getting the pot going, Jihoon clicked on the next page. Scrolling down as he continued to read, Jihoon waited as the coffee brewed. A small sigh escaped as he found nothing and clicked on the next page.

The coffee maker beeped and Jihoon poured himself a cup. Going back to his desk with laptop and a cup of coffee, Jihoon read through another page. This is when he notices something different from all the other pages he had been reading through. His heart jumped, racing now from anticipation of what was going on.

There was a hidden message.

“Congratulations, the person you have been looking for is making contact with you. If you want to find me and talk, come to the National Library of Korea. I’ll be there every day till 5pm, and I’ll be leaving this coming up Friday. If we don’t get the chance to meet, we won’t get the chance ever again. I’ll be wearing sapphire blue sneakers. I look forward to meeting you.”

Jihoon couldn’t believe it. He had actually found something. His persistence had paid off. The first thing he wanted to do was to tell Seungcheol. Looking around for a pen, Jihoon picked up the first one he came across.

But the moment he brought it down on his own arm, Jihoon stopped himself.

Even if he had found a way to see this Lee Sungmin, nothing really was for sure. He could be meeting anybody who claimed themselves to be who he was looking for. Before Jihoon could even think of telling Seungcheol, he had to make sure.

Wanting to read over the message again, Jihoon looks at his laptop, but the message wasn’t there anymore. The whole page was wiped clean. In deep confusion, Jihoon checked his history list, knowing full well nothing was going to show up.

Sighing, Jihoon wondered what he was going to do. It was already Thursday, if he didn’t show up tomorrow his only chance would be gone. His moment of happiness was only short lived as the hardest part of this doing all this was coming up. Meeting Lee Sungmin in real life.

Laying in bed that night, Jihoon tried his hardest to sleep. He had already set up the countless alarms he would need to wake up in the morning, but his mind wouldn’t let him sleep. He tossed and turned, his mind jumping from Lee Sungmin to Choi Seungcheol.

\----------------------------------------------

The next day had Jihoon standing in front of the National Library of Korea. A moment of dread filled him up. The building was huge. A small frustrated pout formed on his lips as he wondered how was he to find one man. And who knows if there was only one person who was wearing blue shoes at the moment.

Instead of pulling out all of his hair in frustration, Jihoon stomped his feet instead. Once he felt some tension leave his body, he ventured into the enormous building. At least he showed up during opening hours to give himself time.

Wasting none of that time, Jihoon started to walk around looking down at people’s shoes. It didn’t take long before he started to get weird looks from the people around him. Jihoon couldn’t care less honestly, he was on a mission. Throwing away all embarrassment, Jihoon continued on his search.

After hours of walking around, Jihoon had to stop. His stomach was rumbling and starting to ache for food. Even with the different array of options, Jihoon only cared for simplicity. He needed quick food, something he didn’t have to wait for. He still had a full day of searching and he didn’t want to waste the whole day eating.

Since it was a library, with many interesting delicate books, Jihoon knew he couldn’t and wouldn’t bring food with him on his journey. He had too much respect for the books. There were already moments, throughout the day, when Jihoon wished he had stopped by this library more often. But when he had one closer to him, he rather make the short journey than to have to deal with being around people.

Sitting down with his food, Jihoon started to eat. Despite wanting to scarf down the food and continue his search, he knew he would only acquire a stomachache. So he told himself to take his time, even if it was ten minutes.

Jihoon was just about with his food done when someone joined him at his table. Looking up from his plate, Jihoon stares into the eyes of a man a few years older than him smiling back at him.

“Who - who are you?” Jihoon asked.

The man still continued to smile, enjoying himself, “Look down at my shoes.”

The comment made Jihoon’s heartbeat fasten. Was this man who he thought he was? The Lee Sungmin he was looking for. Putting down his chopsticks, Jihoon leaned over to look under the table. Sapphire blue sneakers tapped along to the music playing overhead.

Jihoon came back up to look at the man sitting down across from him, “Lee Sungmin?”

Nodding, with a wide smile, Lee Sungmin introduced himself, “The one, the only, Lee Sungmin. You can call me Sungmin. You’ve been looking for me, haven’t you?”

With his own nod, Jihoon said, “I have. How did you know it was me?”

“I have my ways,” Sungmin said, smirking, “What is your name by the way.”

“Ahh,” Jihoon said, gasping at how forgetful he had been, “I’m Lee Jihoon.”

“It’s good to meet you, Lee Jihoon,” Sungmin said, still smiling, “There is only one reason why anyone, anywhere, would try to find me. You need to find a way into another world.”

Jihoon’s heart started pulsing faster. This was starting to be really real. This was happening. “My-my mother told me of your name. And yes, I do need to travel to another world.”

Sungmin nodded in understanding, “If you’re done eating, let’s go find another spot to talk.”

“I’m done,” Jihoon said, knowing he wouldn’t be able to eat anymore anyways. Picking up his plate, he went to return it. Sungmin was waiting for him at the door when he turned around.

Once Jihoon joins him, he had to reask, “Seriously though, how did you know it was me?”

Sungmin chuckled, “Your laptop, like all other laptops, has a camera on it. I hacked into it and saw you.”

This didn’t make Jihoon feel comforted. The moment he got home he was going to stick something over the little camera. Since there was nothing he could do about it now, Jihoon follows Sungmin as he leads them away from the food court. While walking, Sungmin has a lot to tell Jihoon.

“I’ve been here for a whole week already,” Sungmin said, “and you were taking forever reading through all the stories. I wondered if I should have changed the date. I was even wondering if you would have ever gotten to my hidden message. But then I was finally notified last night of it. You have no idea how excited that made me. I love these trips, and I love hearing the stories of them even more.”

None of this was really making sense to Jihoon, but he went along with it, “You want to hear my story?”

“Of course,” Sungmin grinned, “Of all the years I’ve been doing this, it’s the stories that keep me going. I love reuniting family, friends, and loved ones. Cause, to be honest, I was in the same situation.”

“You?” Jihoon couldn’t help but ask.

“Yup,” Sungmin said, “Me, I was separated from my soulmate.”

Their conversation was interrupted when Sungmin goes up to a counter, greets the service desk employee, and asks for a quiet study room.

Once Sungmin signs papers, gets a key, he starts leading them away again.

Everything happening still made Jihoon hesitant, but Sungmin knew so much about his situation and was telling him so many convincing facts about what he was dealing with. He at least wanted to hear him out. And if the situation went downhill Jihoon knew they were in a public building where someone had to hear him screaming his head off.

Getting to their study room, they closed the door and settled in for a long talk.

Sungmin started, not wanting to lose any moment they had, “Okay, let’s start from the beginning. I was streaming long, somewhere in space, thinking of going home, when I get a notification. When someone is looking for me, searching my name, I get notified. So of course, before I let you get to any information, I had to watch what you were doing. It’s the reason why your laptop had so many funny cliches and why your history cleared so many times.”

“You were stalking me?” Jihoon asked, still in shock.

Sungmin shrugged, “You were kind of stalking me first. Plus, I had to see what your motives were. When I saw your related words to my name, I figured you had a problem I could help you with. After taking some precautions, and talking to some friends, I knew you needed help.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Jihoon wondered. “Why are you so willing to help?”

“I told you before,” Sungmin tells him, “My soulmate was taken away from her family when she was younger. She was about to be sold when she escaped and was thankfully taken in by a good family. They all knew she was from a different world, but they had no idea how to help her go back.”

“I remember the day we started writing. She told me her name, Kim Saeun. I kept repeating it to myself even after we stopped writing to each other. It was only soon afterwards when we realized something was wrong. She had hoped she would get a soulmate on the world she had been taken to, but it didn’t work out like that.”

“The both of us started searching for ways to find each other. Back then it was a lot harder, the technology wasn’t as good as it is now. It took forever, but I found some people who did what I do now. They helped me track my soulmate and helped us get together. Ever since then, I knew I had to do something to help those who were in the same position. My wife had the same thoughts. We’ve been doing this ever since.”

Jihoon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Do you tell this to everyone who needs your help?”

Smiling, Sungmin nods, “If it helps them believe me. I want you to understand why I am so willing to help. There has to be some kind of trust between us for this to work out. Because I know it may seem crazy, but I’m offering you a free ride to help you find the one you are looking for. I don’t offer help to anyone unless I think it’s sincere. I’ve been through your pain. If I can do anything to make things better than I’ll do it.”

One minute Sungmin is smiling and the next he is frowning, “Jihoon, are you okay? You’re crying.”

Rushing to cover his face, Jihoon couldn’t stop himself from letting it all go. He had been insecure of himself ever since he lost everything in his life. The overwhelming emotions filling him up, made the tears unstoppable.

Being in the position he was in at the moment was so unexpected. Nothing had been going right for a long time. To finally achieve something, after chasing it with his whole heart, made a rush of mixed emotions swallow him whole.

Jihoon trembled with sadness and relief. His mother had left him this one last gift. He should have taken her words more seriously and looked for Sungmin faster.

Sungmin waited as Jihoon calmed himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overwhelm you and make you cry.”

“No,” Jihoon said, shaking his head, “It’s fine. You did nothing wrong. I’ve been having a lot to think about and I’m just happy something is going right in my life.”

Nodding, Sungmin listened on with curiosity, “If you don’t mind, I would like to hear what happened.”

Sniffling, Jihoon wiped away his tears. Once he was able to talk without crying, he tells his story. “My soulmate. He’s on a different world. We didn’t realize there was anything wrong till we wanted to meet up. That’s when I talked to my mother and she told me she had ran away from my father. With good reason too, since he had been abusing her. She saved us by bringing us here. But because of that, I lost my soulmate.”

Sungmin shook his head slightly. “You didn’t lose your soulmate. You’re just temporarily apart. We’re going to find him and get you guys together.”

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon was sent home to rest. There wasn’t much else for him to do but to wait.

Sungmin had told him there was a lot of work he had to do, mostly dealing with finding Seungcheol. When he figured that out, he would contact Jihoon again and plan their departure.

\----------------------------------------------

So the wait began.

Jihoon wanted to get back into reading right away, but it was hard and it took forever to finish one book. His mind was elsewhere. Daydreaming of what could have been and what was about to happen.

Even with no knowledge of how long the search would go for, Jihoon decided to trust Sungmin. After what felt like a lifetime the dread that had filled Jihoon everyday finally left him. It was all thanks to meeting Lee Sungmin. There was a spark of hope in Jihoon, one that he hadn’t felt in forever.

The last time he felt anything like hope, Jihoon wanted to meet Seungcheol. He was willing to forgo all his uncertainties and just run to his soulmate. Right now, the hope was back. There was nothing more Jihoon wanted than to meet Seungcheol and start their lives together.

\----------------------------------------------

A few days turned into weeks.

Jihoon didn’t want to lose hope, but there had yet to be any words from Sungmin.

Sighing, Jihoon browsed through all the library books he had checked out that week. They were all he really had at the moment. Knowing he wouldn’t be on this world any longer than he needed to be, Jihoon had donated a lot of his things. The only things he did keep in his possession was a backpack filled with necessities, a change of clothes, and his laptop. Nothing else mattered.

When Jihoon did decide on a book to read, he laid down on the floor with his backpack tucked under his head as a pillow. He settled in for a long day of reading. Just like how he spent every day now.

It didn’t take long for Jihoon to fall asleep. He was particularly tired these days. His mind was swimming with possibilities that maybe his encounter with Lee Sungmin was all in his head. With everything that had been happening in his life, he wouldn’t have been surprised. He was always on a swing, going back and forth from feeling in control to feeling hugely disturbed by everything.

A searing pain wakes Jihoon up. Bringing his arm up, Jihoon realizes it’s too dark to see what is being done to his arm. He turns his arm around and looks at his watch instead. Close to midnight and he was receiving a message. The pain went away and Jihoon knows whatever message he had just gotten was already gone.

Getting up to turn on the light, Jihoon wondered if Seungcheol would try again. He goes to sit by his backpack incase he needs a pen. Even if he felt like he may need a pen, thinking of writing back worried him. Did he want to respond to what Seungcheol had to say?

Jihoon sighed, and soon after the pain returned. After having no contact with anyone in a long time, Jihoon wondered what his soulmate had to say to him.

**Jihoon, I need to know you’re reading this before I say what I need to say. Are you there?**

Despite the seriousness of the situation they were in, Jihoon couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Where else would Jihoon be without his arm around.

Of course Jihoon knew he had to respond, but his rapidly beating heart made his hand shaky. It felt like an eternity since the last time he did this.

_I’m here._

**Good, cause the weirdest thing happened today. A lady came up to me today and asked if I knew a Lee Jihoon.**

For a moment Jihoon forgot how to breath, his heart was caught in his throat. This could have meant anything. What was he supposed to write back to make sure it was actually Sungmin who contacted him. He didn’t have to think long, as new words from Seungcheol was coming in.

**She said her name was Kim Saeun?? No one has ever asked about you here. Or even knew of your name. Why is someone asking about you Jihoon? What is going on?**

His heart was beating fast and loud, he could actually hear it and feel it. Sungmin’s wife. She found Seungcheol. Before he knew it, Jihoon was choking back tears. He had to write back, to make sure Seungcheol knew what was going on.

_I didn’t want to tell you and give you false hope if it didn’t work out. My mother gave me a name on the day she passed. A man named Lee Sungmin and his wife Kim Saeun are helping me get to you._

**Jihoon.**

**Hoonie.**

**Ji.**

**Are you serious?**

Jihoon had never felt so light hearted seeing all the nicknames Seungcheol had for him.

_I am serious._

\----------------------------------------------

The next morning Jihoon woke up with a knock at his door. No one ever knocked at his door.

Quickly wiping away the sleep from his eyes, Jihoon walked over to his front door. Normally Jihoon never opened the door for anyone, but whoever was knocking now wouldn’t stop and leave. It had to be important.

After confirming his side of the story, Seungcheol had stopped all contact. There was much for the both of them to think about. Jihoon only hoped Seungcheol was okay with what he was doing.

Pushing his thoughts of Seungcheol away, Jihoon unlocked his door and opened it. Looking up to the person standing in front of him, Jihoon couldn’t believe it. It had been a month since they last spoke. Seeing this person now, Jihoon could finally feel glad the last few months weren’t a dream.

“Lee Jihoon!” Sungmin said in greeting, smiling widely.

Jihoon gave him a small smile in return, “Finally. Lee Sungmin.”

“I would love to come in and see your empty apartment, but we have bigger things to deal with. I know I was supposed to contact you with departure plans, but we’re going to have to speed things up a bit. Are you ready to change your life?”

Without saying anything, Jihoon goes to grab his backpack and walks back.

“That’s all your taking?” Sungmin asked.

“This is all I need,” Jihoon confirmed, “I’m going to meet my soulmate, what else could I care about.”

Sungmin nods, turning around to leave the place.

Jihoon sighs, taking one last look at the place he called home, and follows Sungmin out.

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon was stuck in wonder of how Sungmin was supposed to get them to a different world when Sungmin was driving them in a car. But he kept those thoughts to himself. He still wanted to trust Sungmin, especially after last night.

The drive had been a few hours in and they were starting to be surrounded by scenery of forests. Jihoon couldn’t keep in his curiosity any longer.

“Your wife,” Jihoon got out.

Sungmin glanced at him and smiled, “Saeun found your soulmate. Yes. Did he mention something to you?”

Jihoon nodded as he said, “He did.”

After another moment of silent driving, Jihoon asked, “Where are we going?”

“A friend I have here on this world is taking care of my spaceship. He lives in a secluded place, which is why we’re taking forever to get there.”

\----------------------------------------------

“You’re leaving already?” Sungmin’s friend asked, following them to the hidden spaceship.

Still walking, Sungmin said, “Of course I have to. I have to send Jihoon to his soulmate. You know how these things are.”

“I do know,” his friend said back, “but everyone misses you. You haven’t even seen them yet. Zhoumi and Henry were talking about flying back in from China to see you.”

Sungmin smiles at the mention of his friends, “Next time when we’re back in town. When we have leisure time. I promise.”

His friend scoffs, “When do you guys ever have leisure time?”

“Leeteuk,” Sungmin starts, “I know you’re as passionate about this as I am. Jihoon, here, has never met his soulmate. I want them to be together, and I know you know this is the right thing to do too. Now stop being a puppy and go worry about our other friends.”

Leeteuk huffed out in annoyance, “You and Sauen better be back soon. Otherwise I’m going to send Eunhyuk and Donghae after you guys. And Jihoon, I hope you have an amazing life with your soulmate. I’m sorry about everything that has happened to you. My friend, Sungmin, will help you get to your soulmate safely. I promise.”

Jihoon nodded, blinking before he could speak, “Thank you.”

“I’ll see you soon,” Sungmin said, waving to his friend who finally stopped following them.

Throughout the last few minutes, Jihoon had been quietly following Sungmin, unsure of what to say. What could he say when he was the outsider to their friendship? All he could think about was how his racing heart was filled with warmth at the thought of all these people trying to help him and people with similar stories.

“Come on, Jihoon. Let’s go meet your soulmate,” Sungmin said, smiling to him, “Mines is also waiting there.”

\----------------------------------------------

“Ahhh, sorry it took me so long to get back to you,” Sungmin said once they were in front of his spaceship.

Jihoon didn’t know what to expect, but there it was, hidden behind some thick trees. Sungmin had keys for it, clicking a button to make a door come down as a ladder.

Sungmin continues, as he starts up the spaceship, “You wouldn’t believe it, but there are actual people out there who don’t like what I do. They do illegal bounty hunting. We had to stay off the grid for a while.”

“What you do isn’t safe, yet you still do it?” Jihoon asks, settling down in a seat Sungmin showed him to.

Sungmin grinned, “Of course. I’ve been telling you. This is something I’m passionate about. Despite the risks, we’re willing to take them on to help you find your soulmate.”

Jihoon was in awe, “Thank you.”

\----------------------------------------------

The travel was to take three days. Thankfully Sungmin had a small personal library on his ship and allowed Jihoon to read from it. Even with the looming events to happen in a few days, Jihoon greedily took books from shelves to read through. This was a rare chance to see books from other worlds and Jihoon wasn’t going to lose that chance.

While reading, Jihoon lost all track of time, which he was fine with. He was sure Sungmin would tell him when they’ve reached the place.

As the day came closer, it was hard to keep reading. Jihoon hoped reading would calm his nerves, but it didn’t. He was going to see his soulmate, his Choi Seungcheol. How could he keep calm?

On the day they were to reach Seungcheol’s world, Jihoon couldn’t even read words. He barely acknowledged anything in front of him. He was so nervous, Sungmin had to calm him down a few times. And because of the nerves, Sungmin also had to talk Jihoon through eating some food. After all these years, after all these months, he was going to meet his soulmate.

Calming himself down enough, Jihoon thought of their first writings to each other, all the days they spent staying up to write back and forth, how he fell in love with Seungcheol. Nothing felt more right than to be with Seungcheol for the rest of his life.

\----------------------------------------------

“Were here,” Sungmin said, smiling widely, “Saeun gave me the address for the place we’re meeting up. Are you ready to go meet your soulmate?”

Jihoon was curled up in his seat, and he couldn’t talk as he was stunned speechless.

Sungmin kneeled by him. “The nervousness is natural. You’ve been writing with this guy for over six years, and after everything you guys have been through, it’s okay. Saeun has been keeping in contact with your soulmate too, to get him to meet up with you, and she says he’s just as nervous. But he’s there, waiting for you.”

Hearing Sungmin’s calming and reassuring words, Jihoon’s heart skipped. Giving a small nod, Jihoon stood up and walked out of the spaceship with Sungmin.

As he walked down the stairs, Jihoon remembered he wasn’t on the same world he was on before. The curiosity of it got the better of him and he started to look around with eagerness. But there wasn’t much to be excited about, it looked like the world he came from.

Sungmin closes up his spaceship and leads them away from it. “It looks like the same doesn’t it? I sent out word earlier. My friend who lives here is lending me a car. Let’s go.”

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon looks at the scenery around him as Sungmin drives them to the location. He was hoping it would be a good distraction, but it wasn’t. His heart was thumping loudly as a cold sweat broke out all over his body. Jihoon felt like he could start crying at any given moment.

He was thankful Sungmin wasn’t trying to make him talk. Jihoon couldn’t even think properly at the moment.

Soon the car comes to a stop and Sungmin parks the car in front of what looks like a restaurant.

“We’re here,” Sungmin said, getting out of the car.

Jihoon follows the motion and gets out from his side.

His stomach was in a tangle, his heart wanted to jump out, and his whole body was feeling clammy.

Sungmin went in first.

While Jihoon lingered outside, trying to calm himself down. He was the one who wanted this, he wanted to meet Seungcheol badly, but he was still over worried with doubt. What if...

Jihoon shook his head. No. This is what they both wanted. He knew he loved Seungcheol. And it might not have been obvious in the last few months, but he knew Seungcheol loved him too.

Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, Jihoon walked into the restaurant.

\----------------------------------------------

There was only one person sitting in the whole place. Jihoon didn’t even care to think of where everyone else was. He only had eyes for the one person.

Seeing him, Jihoon knew, his soulmate.

“Are you... Choi Seungcheol?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a reader once told me there is a reason for everything that i write. 
> 
> i hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


	4. Worlds Apart: Books, Coffee, and Luck

Seeing him, Jihoon knew, his soulmate. 

“Are you... Choi Seungcheol?”

\----------------------------------------------

Seungcheol, who was sitting in a chair facing him, tilted his head up in his direction and stared at him. Even with his sickly pale skin, there were dark circles under his eyes. His cheeks could have been fuller, everything could have been fuller on him. 

Jihoon’s heart broke at the sight.

“Seungcheol?”

Their eyes connected, and Jihoon was tempted to clench at his chest in order to calm his heart. There was so many emotions seen through Seungcheol’s eyes. The most clearest one Jihoon could read off of him was fear.

Without taking his eyes off of Jihoon, Seungcheol stood up and quietly walked over to him. He had yet to said anything to confirm or deny his identity. 

Stopping in front of him, Jihoon had to tilt his own head up to study Seungcheol’s face. He couldn’t believe how tall Seungcheol was. Despite the toll taken on the guy standing in front of him, Jihoon couldn’t deny how handsome he was.

Putting his hands out in between them, Seungcheol opened up his hands to reveal two pens. Without a big introduction, he simply stated, “I- I need proof.”

Quietly looking down at the objects in Seungcheol’s hand, Jihoon knew he had to do it. There was no other way around it. He had already given up everything for this moment. Bringing out his own hand, Jihoon reached over and grabbed one of the pens in Seungcheol’s palm.

Clicking the pen, Jihoon brought out his left arm.

_ My soulmate. My whole world. My Choi Seungcheol.  _

Jihoon looked over to Seungcheol, who still had a blank expression. 

Seungcheol brings out his own left arm. There was no flinch as they both looked down at the words disappearing on Jihoon’s arm to only appear on Seungcheol’s arm.

Jihoon’s eyes glazed over with tears threatening to fall. He lets out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding in. The man standing before him really was his soulmate.

Still not showing any signs of emotion, Seungcheol brought down his own pen on his left arm. On the bare skin, where Jihoon’s words had already disappeared, Seungcheol wrote down his own words.

**My soulmate. My Lee Jihoon. I love you.**

Now the tears are falling, blurring Jihoon’s eyesight. Seungcheol’s words disappear from his arm as a familiar pain comes to Jihoon’s. Blinking fast, Jihoon sees the words appear on his own arm. Seeing the confirmation only makes him cry harder.

A hand grabs at his wrist and Jihoon is pulled forward. The motions are too quick for Jihoon to even be shocked. Arms wrap around him, leaving no space between them. Jihoon couldn’t stop himself, once the sobbing started, it wouldn’t end. Pressing himself into Seungcheol’s shoulder, he grabbed hold of his soulmate, knowing he would never let go.

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon didn’t know how long they were lost in their embrace, and he really didn’t care. He had been waiting for this moment for the last few years, he was going to cherish it. Also, being in Seungcheol’s arm felt right. Jihoon never wanted to be anywhere else but to be held by his soulmate.

Then the most embarrassing thing had to happen. Jihoon’s stomach growled in hunger. He had been so nervous for this meeting, he barely ate anything in the last few days. Seungcheol pulled back, and Jihoon was about to explain himself, but the store became loud with signs of other people.

“Wha-What is going on?” Jihoon asked as he looked around to see shadows of two people moving around in the next room over.

Seungcheol sighed, “Saeun. When she heard I had friends who owned a restaurant, she thought it was best to do it here. She said we would need to eat right after meeting for the first time.”

Jihoon looked back up to Seungcheol. His skin flushed with goosebumps and he was sure his hair was standing up in attention at the sound of Seungcheol’s voice. Regardless of wanting to keep his questions to himself, Jihoon was still curious, “This place is owned by your friends?”

With a small smile, Seungcheol nodded, “A couple of my friends own it together. You’ll probably be meeting them in the next few days.”

Groaning, Jihoon buried himself back into Seungcheol’s shoulder. He was already nervous enough with the thought of meeting Seungcheol, now he had to meet all his friends as well too.

“Come on now,” Seungcheol said quietly with a light tone, “I’ll be here throughout the whole thing. Remember, it’s you and me, and some of my clingy friends.”

Despite how he was feeling, Jihoon couldn’t help but chuckle at Seugncheol’s words. “You were really serious, weren’t you?”

Seungcheol squeezed Jihoon closer to him, “I was totally serious. I can’t get rid of them. If I could have, I would have traded all of them for you.”

Jihoon pulled back and scoffed, “Don’t let them know.”

“I tell them all the time.”

“You should have been glad to have had them,” Jihoon said with a small frown, “I didn’t have anyone with me.”

Seungcheol leaned down, placing his forehead on Jihoon’s, “That’s why I wanted you here.”

Having Seugncheol’s face so close to his, Jihoon could feel his face become flushed with heat. He was sure his whole face was turning red.

Jihoon let go of Seungcheol and covered his face. Which only made Seungcheol chuckle and squeeze Jihoon closer to him again.

“Since Sungmin and Saeun are here,” Jihoon said through his fingers, “You should probably let go of me.”

Seungcheol only gets closer and said into Jihoon’s hair, “I don’t want to.”

“You’re going to have to sooner or later,” a woman’s voice said from behind Jihoon, “The food is almost ready.”

Jihoon pulls away from Seungcheol and turns to finally meet Saeun. 

Saeun catches his eyes and gives him a wide smile, “It’s so good to finally meet you, Jihoon. I’ve heard so much about you from both Sungmin and Seungcheol. You’ve got a lot of guts, being the one to seek out Sungmin.”

Replicating her smile with his own small smile, Jihoon said, “It’s good to meet you too. I’m just glad Sungmin took me seriously enough to meet me and hear my story. I wanted to thank you too, for helping me.”

“Nonsense, “ Saeun replies, “If I know Sungmin well enough, he would have told you how much we love what we do. I’m would jump at any chance to see two people, such as yourselves, happy with the one you’re meant to be with. You have no idea how much my heart is exploding with joy to see you guys together right now.”

Her words are enough to make Jihoon blush. To have this much attention, even if it was only from three people, made Jihoon grateful for the life he was living. In all his new life experiences, this had to be one of the best moments.

Saeun walks back to the kitchen door, saying, “Choose a table. Sungmin and I should be back with food in a bit.”

Seungcheol smiles and nods.

When Saeun is gone, a arm wraps around his back and grabs Jihoon’s side, pulling him in. Jihoon looks over, and it’s Seungcheol drawing him in close again. He furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity.

Seungcheol gives him a gummy smile and whispered loud enough for him to hear, “My heart is also exploding with joy to have you here next to me.”

Jihoon was sure his blush turned red with hotness. He couldn’t believe it. He had been so worried about Seungcheol’s reaction to seeing him in real life, he wasn’t really prepared for all of this. Everything about Seungcheol made him flustered.

His tallness, his deep eyes, his taunting lips, the warmth his body gave, but it wasn’t only the physical things Jihoon noticed. Seungcheol was also very straightforward, he followed through with his promises, and he seemed to genuinely care for Jihoon’s well-being.

“I hope you’re happy to be here, with me, too,” Seungcheol continued to whisper.

Reaching out for Seungcheol’s unoccupied hand, Jihoon takes it in both his hands, studying it and softly pressing his thumb over Seungcheol’s palm. “I spent weeks on end looking for a person I wasn’t even sure existed. When I found that stranger, I put all my trust in him to cart me across the galaxies. I gave up all my belongings, other than what I could put in a backpack, and I ran across the galaxies to find you. To see you, to touch you, to know you are real, to know everything we’ve been through since you’ve first written to me is real, I still can’t believe it.”

Seungcheol traps both his thumbs in his hand, and said, “You’re saying...?”

Jihoon looked up at Seungcheol with a frown, the guy was going to force it out of him, “I’m saying, I gave up everything for you, Seungcheol. You mean that much to me. I would have withered away where I came from, but here, here I can live again. You give me a reason to live again. Because I tried so hard to live without you, but thoughts of you, glimpses of you, you, you kept coming back to taunt me. Reminding me that without you, with me, I was nothing but a living corpse. Being with you, seeing you happy and alive, it has helped me considerably. All I can hope now is that I can do the same for you.”

Before Seungcheol could say anything, the kitchen doors are opening again, and they are joined by Saeun and Sungmin. Both of them have their arms full of plates and bowls.

Jihoon looks over and starts walking over, “Let me take one.”

Seungcheol follows and nods, “You guys should have called us over.”

Once they’ve chosen a table and had the plates of food set up, the four people sit down for a meal. It was going to be Jihoon’s first proper meal in... he actually couldn’t remember the last time he made himself a whole meal. When he ate, he always chose simplicity. Looking at the plates of food now, Jihoon wondered if he was going to be able to keep the food down.

Seungcheol leans over and quietly said, “Don’t force yourself to eat, but please do eat something. I’m sure it’s been a long day for you.”

Jihoon looks over to him and nods, “You too. Eat something too.”

For the first few minutes, the group ate in silence. They allowed themselves to get comfortable in the awkward situation. If they could have, all of them would have agreed to how strange their circumstances were. Seungcheol was used to seeing his friends running around this place cooking and helping customers. And the other three, they were from completely different worlds.

Once they found their rhythm of choosing what to eat and actually eating the said food, Sungmin spoke up. “Once we finish making sure Jihoon is a legal citizen here on this world, we’ll be leaving. It shouldn’t take anymore than three days. The people we have connections to, good people, they’re pretty amazing at what they do. While we had some down time on the ride over, we took a picture of Jihoon. All you guys need to worry about is if Jihoon wants to learn how to drive. You’ll still have to get a driver’s license.”

Seungcheol had been listening in closely, making sure he had gotten all the information correct. “Saeun knows where I live, you guys can stop by anytime.”

Jihoon had also been listening carefully, but to be honest he was getting tired, and he was okay with Seungcheol taking over their conversation.

“I’m glad this all worked out,” Saeun said, taking a break from eating, “Hearing your story, despite hearing many stories, made me happy Jihoon isn’t alone anymore. I’m glad you guys have each other now.”

Sungmin nodded, “Having you guys together makes me happy too. I’ve only been with you, Jihoon, for a few days, but I can already see a difference in you since we’ve arrived.”

Seungcheol places his chopsticks down and grabs hold of Jihoon’s unoccupied hand, reawakening him from his tiredness. “I don’t know how to thank you guys for all that you have done for us. You risked everything for strangers, without even batting an eyelash. If it wasn’t for the two of you, for people who do the things you guys do, I probably wouldn’t be able to hold onto my soulmate’s hand. Thank you, thank you so much.”

Tightening the hold on Seungcheol’s hand, Jihoon agreed. “Seriously, thank you. This is all I have ever wanted. I asked Sungmin before, but if there is ever anything you guys need, just ask.”

Sungmin shook his head lightly, “Stop it already. All that we ask for is that the both of you live a good life together, just like us.”

Sauen nods, looking over to Sungmin just as he turns his attention to her as well. They smiled at each other and shared a small kiss. 

\----------------------------------------------

When they were done picking at the food, eating as much as they could, they cleaned up their mess. Sungmin and Saeun decided it was best to leave then. They had finally reunited after a few months of being apart, and they were excited to see each other again. Jihoon could understand.

Seungcheol locked up the store and led Jihoon to his own car. Even though they had not said anything before, it was already understood Jihoon would be going home with him. A new wave of nervousness and excitement coursed through Jihoon with the thought of being in Seungcheol’s home.

“The place I own right now isn’t much, but it’s good enough for now,” Seungcheol tells him as he drives, “We-we’ll start deciding what we should do for our future later. I’m sure you could use a shower and a rest.”

Jihoon nodded, “As long as we’re together, I don’t mind anything.”

\----------------------------------------------

“Jihoonie,” a voice rung through his ears, and a hand on his arm shaking him lightly. “Ji. Wake up.”

Not wanting to, considering this was the best sleep he had taken in such a long time, Jihoon groaned, whimpering at the thought of opening his eyes. By then though, his other senses were taking over too. He was laying in soft blankets, giving him such a comfortable warmth, he definitely didn’t want to get up. There was a lingering smell of homemade food in the air, and it almost woke him up, but it only just warmed him up further. 

“Hoonie Hoon, you’ve been sleeping all night and all morning. It’s almost midday already. You’ll get the chance to sleep later on tonight too. I won’t stop you.”

It was then when Jihoon realized where he was. Seungcheol’s home. He had fallen asleep before he could even see the place. A heat flushed his skin as he realized how he had made it into the house. There was only one way how he saw it happening, Seungcheol had carried him in.

Preparing himself for the new day with his soulmate, Jihoon turned over to where the voice had been coming from. Opening his eyes, he sees a smiling figure sitting next to him. They stare at each other for a while, still not believing their situation. Seungcheol tilts his head, still staring at him with his smile, and something in Jihoon’s stomach knots up. 

“Hey there, sleepy head,” Seungcheol said with a wide gummy smile, “Glad to see you awake. Did you have a good sleep?”

“You carried me in, didn’t you?” Jihoon asked, slowly sitting up.

If possible, Seungcheol’s smile grew even wider, he nodded as he said, “You fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you up. Plus, you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to ruin your sleep.”

Looking at his surroundings, Jihoon sees the bed he is on. It’s not small, but it’s also not huge, just big enough to fit two people if they squeezed. The white walls are bare, and no carpet covers the wood flooring.

“Is this your...?” Jihoon started asking.

“My room,” Seungcheol tells him, “You’ve been sleeping in a spaceship, I figured you would like some sort of comfortable bed after all that. Did you sleep well?”

Jihoon finally smiles, “I did. My first good sleep in a long time.”

“Good,” Seungcheol said, getting off the bed. “Come on, I already chose some clothes for you. You should shower and eat.”

\----------------------------------------------

Taking his time in the shower, Jihoon couldn’t help but process everything leading up to this point in his life. Everything felt like a dream. The only thing Jihoon was sure of was Seungcheol. His soulmate.

To literally have nothing to his name, Jihoon was going to be relying heavily on Seungcheol. It was almost to a point where Jihoon wondered if he was going to be too much of a burden on him. He had showed up out of nowhere, not demanding, but needing everything to carry on a normal life again.

Was their status of soulmate enough for Seungcheol to help him out? What if he tired of Jihoon and decided they should live apart? They’ve gotten this far due to luck, but what if their luck ran out? The anxiety in Jihoon’s stomach flopped around, knowing he was always running out of luck.

\----------------------------------------------

There wasn’t much for Seungcheol to show Jihoon in his tiny apartment. He had only the one bedroom Jihoon had woken up in that morning, a small living room, a smaller dining room that connected to a even smaller kitchen. An apartment perfect for one person.

When they were done looking around at Seungcheol’s decor, they decided it was time to eat. 

“So I was thinking,” Seungcheol said as he finished chewing his food and swallowing.

Jihoon looked over to Seungcheol with curiosity, “You were thinking?”

Seungcheol grinned, finally free of any food, “We should go buy you some things today. I’m sure you would like your own clothes and bathroom supplies. Just a few items for now.”

“I-I’ll pay you back once I can get a job,” Jihoon said, placing more food into his mouth.

“Yah! Lee Jihoon,” Seungcheol said loudly, startling Jihoon. “What about your writing? Are you going to go back to your writing?”

Jihoon’s already fast paced heart pained. He wished he had more to say about it, but there wasn’t much he could. “I haven’t been able to write in a long time now. Everything is still in my laptop, but I can’t seem to add any new words no matter how hard I try. I stare and stare and stare at the white screen and nothing comes to me.”

Seungcheol wasn’t hiding any of his expressions as he frowned, sadly pouting. “It’ll be okay Hoonie. You’ll get back to it soon. Of all things I know about you, you love your writing. If you want, we can go to the library and I can check out some books for you.”

Hearing words like library and books calmed Jihoon, making him almost as happy as to having Seungcheol in his life now. Before writing, before having Seungcheol in his life, Jihoon had the world of books. It would be nice to have something he knew and felt comfortable with in his hands.

Nodding, Jihoon smiled, “The library sounds good.”

After eating as much as their stomach would allow, Jihoon helps Seungcheol wash their dishes. And even though they had shared many moments of touches the day before, Jihoon still becomes a flustered mess everytime their hands accidentally brushes against each other. 

Slowly coming to terms with it, Jihoon realizes he was going to feel like this daily with Seungcheol. To feel this spark of being so close to his soulmate, the spark of his feelings for Seungcheol, Jihoon counted it as very lucky. Knowing this, Jihoon couldn’t help himself, once they dried their hands Jihoon wrapped himself around Seungcheol.

“Ji-Jihoon,” Seungcheol stuttered out, “What’s wrong?”

Jihoon breathed in Seungcheol’s scent, “I just like knowing I can do this now. To have you this near that I can hug you whenever I’m feeling down.”

Seungcheol’s chuckles vibrate against Jihoon, and Jihoon can’t help but smile. Seungcheol hugs him back, lightly squeezing him, “Jihoonie. Of course you can hug me anytime now, every day if possible. Every morning and every night. If you don’t I’ll probably be very sad.”

Jihoon nuzzled into Seuncheol’s shoulder, “We can’t have you being sad.”

“No,” Seungcheol replied, “We can’t. But if we are, at least we have each other now. You give me the strength to go on, and I’ll be there for you for anything you need.”

“I already have everything I need,” Jihoon said, leaning back to look at Seungcheol, “You.”

Seungcheol gives him such a wide gummy smile Jihoon can’t help but smile back too.

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon is slowly making his way through all the aisles in the library, waiting for any of the books to call him out. Of course there were many that interested him, but he knew there would be a difference when he found the one he was meant to take with him.

Seungcheol was following behind him, and Jihoon could feel him watching his every move. It didn’t bother Jihoon though, this moment was meant for only him and the books around him. Jihoon was too far lost to care that Seungcheol was grinning like a fool.

When he had his arms full, knowing he had to finish the ones he had chosen first before he could take another handful, Jihoon turns to Seungcheol and smiles.

“After an hour you’re finally acknowledging me?” Seungcheol said with a smile.

Jihoon nods, “I’m ready.”

Seungcheol chuckles, not minding Jihoon’s love for books. “Did you want to go get some coffee? There’s this really good place downstairs.”

Nodding faster now, Jihoon widen his eyes in prospects of coffee. He hasn’t had any in what seemed like forever. Being in a new environment excited Jihoon, he was always in wonder if everything was the same as his other world. And now he was curious as to whether the coffee would be different.

Seungcheol checks out all the books Jihoon had chosen, and the two make their way down to the cafe. They choose a table far away from others, and Seungcheol tells Jihoon to settle in with his books while he goes to get their drinks. Jihoon does not mind at all, itching to forget everything around him and dive right into a book.

Jihoon doesn’t get very far though. He felt a familiar pain on his arm. This comes as a shock to him, because there was no reason for his arm to be in pain anymore. He was already with his soulmate, they could talk to each other whenever they wanted.

**I had to tell you, Ji, you’re too cute when you’re passionate about books. Even though I didn’t get to see the young you who grew up loving books, I’m glad to see the you now who is such a determined book reader.**

There’s a smile on his lips, but Jihoon can’t help but shake his head in how cheesy Seungcheol was being. He knows it’s just Seungcheol being Seungcheol, but it still does make his heartbeat fasten. Jihoon realizes his can be a bit over the top with his love of books, so he was glad Seungcheol didn’t mind how he can be around them.

Looking through his belongings, Jihoon finds his own pen and looks at his blank arm. And now he gets why Seungcheol had decided to write to him through their skin again. The feeling growing in his chest, spreading all over his body, it makes him fall in love with Seungcheol all over again. 

_ Would you be mad if I choose books over you? _

Jihoon knows he probably looks like a fool, but he was in love and he didn’t care.

**You traveled across the galaxy for more books, is that what you’re trying to tell me?**

_ Books and coffee. ;) _

**:(**

_ Come back soon so we can go back to your place. _

**Do you mean our place?**

Jihoon flushes red at the thought of it. Seungcheol was so willing to share anything and everything with him. A chuckle escaped his lips as he thinks of how lucky he is to have someone like Seungcheol as his soulmate.

_ Our place. I like the sound of that. _

**Me too.**

\----------------------------------------------

Later that night, while sitting in front of Seungcheol’s tv, watching mindless shows, Seungcheol gets up to walk into the kitchen.

“Jihoonie, did you want anything to drink?”

Without even thinking about it, Jihoon said, “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

Seungcheol comes back with two opened beer bottles, handing him one. “Just one tonight.”

Blinking with a bit of uncertainty, Jihoon accepted the bottle. It was going to be their first official alcoholic drink together. Jihoon had only witnessed Seungcheol’s drunk writing, he’s never seen an actual drunk Seungcheol. And the fact that Jihoon rarely ever drank didn’t help either. What if this one bottle made him feeling just good enough to pass out right there on the couch?

Joining Jihoon on the couch, Seungcheol turned down the volume of the tv. Hearing the noise almost disappear, Jihoon turns to Seungcheol with anticipation of what was going to happen.

“Can we talk?” Seungcheol asks.

Jihoon nods, “Sure. What... What did you want to talk about?”

Seungcheol took a little sip before saying, “I want to hear your side of the story. What you went through to get in contact with Sungmin, everything after that to get here.”

Seeing as Jihoon had yet to personally tell him what he honestly went through, he could see why Seungcheol was curious. And as hard as is it was to talk about it, Jihoon wanted Seungcheol to know about it. So that’s what they did for the next hour or so. They sipped at their beer and Jihoon told Seungcheol everything he went through.

Being this open about his depression, his state of feeling so lost in the world, of almost giving up on it all, Jihoon started shaking at hearing himself talk about it. No one was around to witness it, to hear him ranting about it, to help him through it, and it still hurt him thoroughly despite having his soulmate right in front of him now. Jihoon was sure he was never going to fully heal from his hard past, but he was going to be okay anyways.

He had his soulmate, the love of his life, his whole world, Seungcheol.

His Seungcheol, who had put both their bottles down so he could take Jihoon into his arms and hold him tight.

His Seungcheol, who wiped away the tears he didn’t even know he was crying.

His Seungcheol, who kissed the top of his head and told him everything was going to be okay now.

\----------------------------------------------

“A-are you sure this is okay?” Seungcheol asked, following Jihoon into the bedroom.

Jihoon nodded, “You’re tired, I’m tired. Let’s not think too much about it and just sleep.”

“I could sleep on the floor, or the couch. It wasn’t so bad last night,” Seungcheol continued.

“I like that you respect me that much, but come on Cheol,” Jihoon said, “It’s just sleep. I know you won’t try anything. I know I won’t”

“What if you’re so cute, and I can’t handle it and snuggle you too hard?”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to sleep on the couch.”

“I-I I change my mind,” Seungcheol quickly retracted his words, running to take dibs on the side of the bed he wanted. “I’ll be careful not to snuggle too hard.”

“Good,” Jihoon said, taking the unoccupied side, “I’m so tired, I probably wouldn’t even feel it.”

\----------------------------------------------

The next morning had them both waking up to Seungcheol’s phone. It had been non-stop ringing for a while. They were too tired to care. Then the little annoying jingle went on for a long thirty minutes, and Jihoon couldn’t take it anymore. He wasn’t used to this much disturbance in the morning.

“Seungcheol,” Jihoon cried out, “Why is your phone doing that?”

Seungcheol let out his own cry, “My friends. They said they would give me one day, and they were serious.”

“Do I have to meet them today?” Jihoon lethargically let out.

“I think you do,” Seungcheol said, sighing as he turned in his position, “They’re all curious as to who you are, and how you look, and everything.”

Jihoon huffed out his own sigh, “You should just tell them they’re never going to see me. I’m going to glue myself to this bed.”

“I don’t think it would help much. One of them has a key to my apartment, and I wouldn’t put it past him to invite himself and everyone else here.”

Sitting up, Jihoon ruffled his hair, then scratched an itch that was starting to bother him on his back. Blinking at the room around him, he still couldn’t believe where he was. Looking down at the lump beside him, Jihoon thought it wasn’t so bad waking up to a Seungcheol lump.

“Do you think they would be offended if I brought a book along with me?” Jihoon asked. He had started a book the day before and he was holding back as much as possible to not go running for it to finish it all in one go.

The Seungcheol lump started to shake, and in the next minute Jihoon could hear him laughing. Jihoon pulls at the blankets and uncovers Seungcheol’s top half. The knot in Jihoon’s stomach showed up again at the sight of pure happiness in Seungcheol’s face. 

“What’s so funny?” Jihoon asked the still giggly Seungcheol.

Seungcheol composes himself enough to tell him, “I’m glad I’m not the only one you choose books over.”

\----------------------------------------------

In the end, Jihoon didn’t bring the book.As much as Jihoon really did want to bring a book, so he had something to hide behind, he decided to stick it out for Seungcheol. These were his friends, so they were bound to be people Jihoon was going to see frequently. Plus, Seungcheol promised him he would get his alone time later that day to read to his heart’s content. 

Since it was Seungcheol’s friends they were going to see, it only made sense to go meet them at the restaurant some of them owned. The restaurant seemed to be very special in a way. It was the place Jihoon saw Seungcheol for the first time, and now it was the place he was going to meet Seungcheol’s friends for the first time too. Stepping through the familiar doorway, Jihoon was greeted with a totally different scene from the last time he was here. The place was up and running, and there were customers sitting in random places.

Looking around, Jihoon spotted a loud crowd of boys and wondered if they were...

“Choi Seungcheol!” one of the boys yelled out.

“Hyung,” another whined, “Not so loud. You’re disturbing the rest of the customers.”

Jihoon looked up to Seungcheol and saw him looking down at him too. Seungcheol was smiling.

“I warned you didn’t I?”

And Seungcheol did warn Jihoon. He just wasn’t sure someone was capable of having 11 friends who clung on to them. But the proof was sitting in clusters of tables on the far side of the room waiting for them.

“Come on,” Seungcheol whispered, taking Jihoon’s hand.

Holding onto Seungcheol’s hand for dear life, Jihoon follows a step behind him. Meeting 11 new people was bound to be overwhelming. 

“You’re finally looking better Hyung.”

“Where-where is he?”

“Why did it take you guys a whole two hours to get here?”

“You knew we were planning this, why weren’t you prepared?”

“You still need to eat more Hyung.”

“Sleep, he needs more sleep.”

“Where is he?”

Seungcheol stops in front of his friends, and Jihoon accidentally bumps into him before he stops too. Jihoon’s vision had blurred, unable to concentrate from the onslaught of noise around him.

“Guys,” Seungcheol said in warning to them, “Will you please be more calm. If you make Jihoon run out of here before you can even meet him, I won’t talk to you guys ever again.”

The group immediately went quiet. 

But then there was a quiet whisper of “That’s a total lie.”

And another “That’s his soulmate he’s talking about. I wouldn’t be surprised if he throws us away.”

“We’re his friends though,” the first whisper said back.

“Who would you chose? Wonwoo or us, your friends?”

Without waiting to even consider it, the whisper said, “Wonwoo!”

“See.”

Seungcheol sighed, and Jihoon couldn’t help but smile at the ridiculous conversation he was hearing. Pulling on Jihoon’s hand, Seungcheol brought Jihoon forward. “If you guys are ready now, I’d like to introduce you to Lee Jihoon, my soulmate.”

Jihoon’s vision returns to him and he finally sees the people in front of him clearly. All very cheery boys smiled to him, waving hello. Jihoon, in turn, gives them all his own small wave. And seeing him wave, made the group smile even wider.

“Hi,” Jihoon said, “I’m Lee Jihoon.”

There was a moment of quiet as they all stared at him. During all the silence, Jihoon wondered what they were thinking.

“Seokmin,” Seungcheol suddenly said in shock, “Why are you crying?”

Jihoon looks through the crowd and finds the crying face. It was true, despite the smile on his lips, Seungcheol’s friend was crying.

Seokmin wiped his cheeks with one hand and waved his other, “No, no. I’m not crying.”

“You’re clearly crying,” someone else added.

“Yah,” a head of blond said, grabbing Seokmin’s cheeks, “You promised you wouldn’t cry.”

“I’m just so happy for them,” Seokmin said, now full on teary-eyed.

“Stop it, Seokmin,” another voice said, “You’re making my Jisoo cry.”

“Minghao, don’t you dare cry too.”

“Says the person wiping away their own tears. Come here you big cry baby.”

“I-I’m not a cry baby.”

“You guys,” an exasperated voice said, “I just got Seungkwan to stop crying this morning. And now you guys made him start all over again.”

“Can-can you guys not cry,” Seungcheol said with a raspy voice.

It made Jihoon frown, looking over to Seungcheol. Seungcheol’s own eyes were glazed over with tears. These people were important to him, this much was evident, and they obviously cared for him a lot too. Jihoon’s chest swelled with warmth, and he squeezed Seungcheol’s hand.

Seungcheol returns Jihoon’s look and Jihoon gives him a reassuring smile. Seungcheol nods and recomposes himself. He clears his throat and looked back to his friends. “Okay, okay. Come on now. Everything is good now. I’m good now. Jihoon is here. We’re all here. I know you guys are crying happy tears, but I want you guys to introduce yourself to Jihoon too.”

It takes another long moment before Seungcheol’s friends are ready to talk. And it’s fine with Jihoon, as it gives him a moment to pull Seungcheol in for a small hug. Jihoon was sure Seungcheol was never going to let go, but he does and they face the group of people again.

This time they are all smiles again. And they start introducing themselves to him.

“I think you might recognize my name. I’m the self-proclaimed best friend of Seungcheol, Yoon Jeonghan. I’m so glad you’re here now, Jihoon.”

“Hi, I’m Hong Jisoo. If you have any troubles with Seungcheol, just let me know.”

“Kim Mingyu, I own this restaurant with a few others here.”

“Jeon Wonwoo. It’s good to finally meet you, Jihoon.”

“Xu Minghao. I heard you like books, I do too!”

“I’m Kwon Soonyoung. You can come here to eat anytime, free!”

“You are a good match for Seungcheol-hyung. I like you a lot. Oh yeah, I’m Moon Junhui. But Jun is fine.”

“Boo Seungkwan,” he said while hiccuping, “Thank you so much for coming and loving our Seungcheol-hyung.”

The next one was hugging Seungkwan, still trying to calm him down, “Sorry about him, he’s just too happy. I’m Choi Hansol. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I-I’m Lee Seokmin. Please-please take care of our Seungcheollie-hyung. He can be a bit moody at times, but he definitely loves you.”

Seungcheol scoffed, shaking his head.

The last one had been super quiet through the whole conversation, and was finally given a chance to talk. “Hi, I’m the youngest here. Lee Chan. The Hyungs are a bit noisy, but you’ll get used to it.”

Jihoon smiled and nodded.

“Well,” Seungcheol said, “There you have it. All my clingy friends.”

“That’s right,” Jeonghan said, “We’re going to hang on to you guys till we’re all 100 years old.”

In all of Jihoon’s life, he never felt more luckier than this. He thought he only had Seungcheol, but now he had this group who was more than willing to have him in their lives and help him out. 

Jihoon was still looking at the group before him, but he tells Seungcheol, “You were very lucky to have these people in your life. And I am so lucky you’ve keep them around this long so I could meet them.”

And with a racing heart, Jihoon also tells Seungcheol’s friends, “Thank you. For caring so much about Seungcheol, and making sure he was eating and sleeping when I couldn’t. Thank you.”

\----------------------------------------------

Later that day, after eating and talking about Jihoon’s experience of traveling, he was offered a job by Soonyoung. 

“Why are you trying to enslave my soulmate already?” Seungcheol said in protest.

Soonyoung shrugged, “I thought I could help him out.”

“It could help us out too,” Mingyu added, “It’s hard trying to run the place while trying to cashier too. And Jihoon could read or write whenever there isn’t a customer by the counter.”

“What do you say, Hyung,” Seungkwan said, turning to Jihoon.

Jihoon contemplates the offer. He had been wanting to find a job. He really couldn’t rely on Seungcheol too much, all the time, no matter how much Seungcheol said he didn’t mind. It would give him something to do, rather than sit at home doing what he normally did.

“I-I’ll take it,” Jihoon said, “I think it will do me some good to get out more often. It could help with my writer’s block.”

Seungcheol, who had been listening, finally nods, “If you want to, I can’t stop you. And I’ll be going back to school soon anyways, so it’ll be nice to know you’re getting feed and talked to.”

\----------------------------------------------

As much as he tried to read that night, Jihoon couldn’t. There were too many questions he had for Seungcheol. So with a sigh of defeat, Jihoon bookmarked his page and went to find him. And he liked this, going to find Seungcheol rather than trying to find a pen. Jihoon loved that he could go talk face to face with his soulmate now.

Jihoon found Seungcheol sitting in front of the tv, watching some reality show. Joining him on the couch, Jihoon leaned into Seungcheol’s side. “Can we talk?”

Seungcheol smiled at him, and lowered the volume of the tv. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted some time alone with your books?”

Jihoon faintly smiled back too. “I did, but my mind kept going back to you. There’s something I wanted to know.”

Nodding, Seungcheol said, “Okay, what’s on your mind? You know you can ask me anything.”

Looking into Seungcheol’s gaze, Jihoon reached over to intertwine their fingers. Jihoon took his time, playing with Seungcheol’s hand before he spoke. “You never told me how you were doing while we stopped talking to each other and everything up to us meeting. I can see it on your face, I could see it through your friends, but you haven’t said anything to me yet.”

The smile Seungcheol had on dropped, and now he was slightly frowning. His fingers, in Jihoon’s hold, tensed up. And Jihoon could see the gears in Seungcheol’s mind turn over.

“I won’t ask you to tell me now, if it makes you uncomfortable,” Jihoon said, seeing how Seungcheol was reacting, “But when you are ready, I’ll be here to listen.”

Seungcheol calmly shook his head. “I’ll tell you. And it’ll be because I want to.”

Jihoon nodded encouragingly, waiting for Seungcheol to start.

“I’m pretty sure you know I was devastated. I barely made it to my classes, but Jeonghan and Jisoo made sure I went and did my homework. The others helped me with everything else. The studying, making food, making sure I was showering, making sure I slept, woke up, and got out of bed. They even cleaned my apartment for me. I was sort of pathetic. They literally walked me through living for all of that time.

“No matter how much I wanted to quit everything I was working on, they talked me into continuing. All I ever wanted to do was write to you, talk to you, try and get you to acknowledge me, I wanted to be connected with you again so bad. But my friends had made a pact that they wouldn’t let me write to you. And they stuck to the rule like crazy. They wouldn’t let me hold a pen without holding onto my other arm.

“I probably still talked about you every day, and when I didn’t talk about you I thought about you. I’m sure the guys were sick of it, but they never told me to stop. And I was being kind of mean back then too, cause I wanted them to share my misery. Which I’m sure they did.

“I... I didn’t want to continue living like a normal person. I was fine with not doing my laundry and okay with wearing old clothes. I didn’t care about the piles of old dishes, and the trash was least of my worries. If I wasn’t being watched and forced into living normally, I would have okay with rotting away in my apartment.

“I was like that every day till Saeun came to find me. Just barely living. I didn’t see any reason to try and find joy in life. You-you weren’t there with me. If I didn’t have my friends, I don’t know what would have happened to me.

“When Saeun found me, I couldn’t believe it. She was telling me my soulmate was trying to find me, telling me it was possible to be with my soulmate. Do you know how crazy that sounded? I thought she was pulling a prank on me at first. That’s when I wrote to you. I had to make sure.

“And when you confirmed it... As happy as I was, there was also so much guilt. I kept telling you over and over how much I loved you, yet I didn’t even do anything to try and find a way if we could be together. I wondered if I even deserve to see you and be with you. I still wonder if I do.

“But you were coming, and there was no way of stopping it. So I gathered the guys and they helped me to think everything through. They helped me see that no matter what, you are here now, and it’s the one fact I should be thankful for. So now all I really care about is making sure everything is okay for you.”

While Seungcheol told Jihoon of his story, Jihoon held onto Seungcheol and listened. It was different from them writing to each other, of course, there were no long periods of waiting for each other to finish writing what they wanted to say. Seungcheol could say everything on his mind without having to figure out what to write and make it shorter for hand cramping purposes. Being together had many positive aspects. 

The biggest outcome of the conversation for Jihoon was that he knew he wasn’t alone in his feelings. He wasn’t the only one who felt like giving up. 

Both stayed quiet. Seungcheol focused on breathing and bringing his heart rate back down. While Jihoon waited, and held onto Seungcheol’s hand. Though there was a lingering silence, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. They were still gathering all their thoughts after the two finally shared their experiences.

“Seungcheol,” Jihoon said, getting his attention, “You know that I could never hate you, right? With the situation we were in, we had no choice but to try and move on. Before my mother said anything to me I didn’t think there was a way to this world too. You have to know I was on the verge of rotting away too, exactly in the way you almost did. The only difference is, you had your friends. And I’m so grateful to them for keeping you alive this far.

“I decided to move on and try to live a simple life cause I was sick and tired of not really living. As much as it hurt not having you part of my daily life, it hurt even more not living. I couldn’t write anything, my mind had drawn a blank every time I tried. And what was worse was that I could barely read, nothing kept me interested. Not even being able to live enough to enjoy my lifestyle was killing me. So I moved on.

“Till moving on wasn’t enough. I needed you Seungcheol. You are my whole world, my everything. When I wasn’t even worried about soulmates, you pushed yourself into my life and took up every part of it. When I thought we were already destined to meet, and I didn’t care to get to know you, you made your way into my heart anyways. It was exactly the push I needed to need you this much. 

“You’ve always put me first, then took care of yourself after. And I want us to change that. I want you to be the confident person you once were, and for me to keep my confidence. I know we’re still a long ways from getting better, but at least this is a start. Us, acknowledging our situation and talking it out.”

Seungcheol couldn’t say anything right away. There were too many emotions in the air, and there was so much said between the two, they needed all the moment they could get to digest the conversation being said and listened to. 

Finally, Seungcheol nodded. “Okay. Of course I want us to work out our issues. And it’ll be together, as it should be. Us two, together forever.”

Jihoon nodded as well, “Of course.”

“Is...” Seungcheol lingered out, “Is it okay if I hugged you?”

A smile grew on Jihoon’s lips, “How do you plan on doing that when we’re both sitting?”

“Cuddling then,” Seungcheol sighed, pulling Jihoon closer to him, “We’ll cuddle, with you in my lap.”

Jihoon didn’t complain when he was plopped between Seungcheol’s legs and arms came to wrap themselves around his waist. Seuncheol’s chin finds a place on Jihoon’s shoulder, and Jihoon frowns.

“If you’re tired, we can go to sleep,” Jihoon tells him.

Seungcheol lightly shakes his head, “Not yet.”

They had so much happened to them, and a whole future waiting in front of them. Yet, for one night, they were going to push away all their worries back and just enjoy being in each other’s presence.

\----------------------------------------------

The third day in, Jihoon was washing their dishes from breakfast when the doorbell rang. Seungcheol, who was trying to read a book Jihoon had brought home from the library, gets up to check who it was. 

“Saeun, Sungmin,” Seungcheol said, opening the door for the couple, “You guys are here early.”

Jihoon, who had heard the names, finishes off the last plate and dries off his hands. He was curious as to what they had brought for him, but also very saddened to know this was their last time seeing the couple as well. 

Seungcheol led them to the livingroom and Jihoon joined them there.

“Jihoon,” Sungmin said as soon as he sat down, “You’re looking a lot better now.”

Jihoon smiles and nods, “I’ve been fed very well here, and I actually sleep normal hours.”

“How are you guys doing?” Seungcheol asks, joining Jihoon on his couch.

“Good,” Sauen replies, “Especially since we have all of Jihoon’s papers with us.”

Sungmin, who was holding onto a file, sets it on the table in the room. “Everything you will need to lead a life in this world is in there. You won’t have to worry about anything missing. We’re pretty thorough when it comes to paperwork. We want you guys to life safe lives, away from worrying about anything that might come in the future.”

Nodding along to her husband’s words, Sauen agreed, “Have you guys decided what you guys are going to do yet? About everything?”

Seungcheol’s smile falters, side-glancing Jihoon, “It’s only been the third day since Jihoon arrived. We’re still getting used to the fact that he is here, but it’ll get better. Jihoon already has a job lined up for him, and I’m going back to school soon. Everything else, we’ll work on it as it comes. We’ve already come this far, there’s nothing else to do but to keep moving forward.”

With a knowing smile, Sungmin looks between the two and decides to let them work out their own problems. “Now that we’ve given you guys the file, our job here is now done. We really wish we could stay longer, but we’ve got the whole galaxy to explore and people to save. There are also some friends we have to go and entertain.”

\----------------------------------------------

A week had passed since Sungmin and Sauen had visited them for the last time. Jihoon was hired on by Seungcheol’s friends, and was in training to learn how to work the cash register. And true to his words, Seungcheol was preparing to go back to school.

They had gone to the library a few more times over the last few days. There was research Seungcheol had to do, and Jihoon was happy enough to find a comfortable chair for reading while he waited. 

**Are you busy at the moment?**

Sitting by the register, Jihoon couldn’t help but smile. They had yet to buy him a phone, so they still wrote to each other when they were apart. Jihoon loved it.

_ Not really. I think I actually saw Soonyoung dozing off at one point. _

**Lol, I heard he had a late night with his dance crew. I’m not surprised he’s tired.**

_ Ahhh, so there is a reason why Seungkwan just let him nap for a while. Normally, on slow days, Seungkwan has him cleaning all the corners. _

**For a busy place, they need to take advantage of the slow periods.**

_ So, what’s up? Unless you were just curious as to how I was doing. _

**I’m always curious as to how you’re doing. But there was also something else.**

_ Okay? _

**I was wondering if you were busy later. I wanted to take you out.**

His heart thumped against his chest at what Seungcheol’s words implied. Could Seungcheol really mean...?

_ Are you asking me out, Choi Seungcheol? _

**On a date, yes. Sorry, I’ve never done this before.**

Jihoon laughed, imagining a nervous Seungcheol writing to him.

“Jihoon, did something good happen?” Soonyoung asked, standing up from his chair, stretching out his tired limbs.

He knew he would be in trouble if he told Seungcheol’s friends, but he couldn’t help it. Jihoon smiled, nodding, “Seungcheol just asked me out. On a date.”

“What!,” Soonyoung said, screaming, long forgetting his tiredness, “Our Choi Seungcheol finally asked his soulmate out.”

Seungkwan comes running from the kitchen. “Wha-What’s happening?”

“Seungcheol asked Jihoon out on a date,” Soonyoung excitedly screamed out again.

“I’m gonna tell everyone,” Seungkwan said, taking out his phone.

It was only matter of minutes before everyone knew, and Jihoon knew he couldn’t stop it. He had already found out the guys were persistent in what they did.

_ I am so sorry. _

**You told the guys.**

_ They would have found out sooner or later anyways. _

**Jeonghan is going to try and meddle somehow. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they all tried to tag along.**

_ It’s our first date, I’m sure they’ll leave us alone. If not, we’ll turn off your phone. Plus, they don’t know it’s happening tonight. _

**So... you’re saying yes?**

_ Of course I’m saying yes.  _

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon had just finished brushing his teeth for the night when Seungcheol came from behind him and wrapped him up in a back hug. A frown appeared on Jihoon when he saw how defeated Seungcheol looked.

“What’s wrong, Cheol?” Jihoon asked.

“Sorry our date didn’t turn out well,” Seungcheol said near Jihoon’s neck.

Jihoon scoffed, “It’s not your fault I fell asleep during the movie. I should be the one who is sorry. I’m such a snooze fest. I can’t even stay awake long enough to finish a movie.”

“It was a pretty bad movie,” Seungcheol said.

“You’re right,” Jihoon smirked, “It was pretty bad.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” Seungcheol tells him, “We’ll go anywhere you want.”

Jihoon smiled widely, “The bookstore.”

Seungcheol shakes with laughter, “Why did I not think of that?”

\----------------------------------------------

“Seungcheol-ah,” Joshua said, taking a break between eating, “Did you ever get those house blueprints approved? I remember you stressing out about them a while back, you never told us how that went.”

Jihoon looked from Joshua to Seungcheol, wondering what Joshua meant with his words. He spooned more rice into his mouth, watching Seungcheol, waiting to hear what he was going to say. 

Seungcheol slightly side glances Jihoon, which Jihoon noticed, and looked towards Joshua. “It’s what I’m working on right now. One of my professors is helping me get it approved. If it’s all good, then I’ll contact the home builders.”

“It shouldn’t take long though, right? You’ve been drawing up sketches for years now,” Jeonghan said, joining the conversation.

“There’s a lot of safety procedures I have to think about. But other than that, I have everything all ready.”

“I’m going to come for a sleepover once everything is set up,” Hansol interrupts, raising his hand.

Seungkwan raises his hand as well, “I want to come too.”

“I want to cook a meal in the kitchen,” Mingyu volunteers.

Wonwoo nods, “I want to eat that meal in your dining room.”

“Whose house are we talking about?” Soonyoung asked, rejoining the group after coming back from the bathroom.

Chan smiled widely, “The one Seungcheol-hyung is building for Jihoon-hyung.”

Soonyoung gasped, “I want to see it too.”

“I’m going too!” Seokmin eagerly nodded. 

“It’s not done just yet,” Seungcheol tells him.

Jihoon had kept quiet long enough, he had his own questions too. “The house you’re building for me?”

Seungcheol turns to Jihoon and smiles, “The house I’m building for us.”

“With a library in it?” Jihoon asked.

“And the kitchen right next door, so I can cook for you,” Seungcheol added.

“Your office right next to mine?” Jihoon continued, smiling now.

Seungcheol nodded, “So I can visit you when I miss you.”

“You guys are so gross,” Minghao tells them with disgust.

“But they’re so cute,” Jun said, clinging onto Minghao’s arm.

\----------------------------------------------

“How’s the writing coming along, Jihoon?” Soonyoung asked from across the restaurant.

“It probably would go better if you weren’t asking him every five minutes,” Wonwoo responds for him.

“Yeah, Hyung,” Seungkwan said, also speaking up, “Leave Jihoon alone. The store finally slowed down enough for him to write.”

Soonyoung huffed, “Fine, I was just curious, hoping everything was going good.”

Jihoon, who had been listening to their conversation, just smiled on and continued his writing. 

After working with them for quite some time, he was used to their banters on a daily basis, and they didn’t seem to mind that he never seemed to respond. In no time, all of Seungcheol’s friends had become his friends as well. Jihoon almost wanted to say they were pretty close to being his family. They were part of his everyday now.

Seungcheol had finished his last semester in college and had been accepted into a architectural design firm. Already, after seeing his many works, he was making his way to being one of the top designers. Which meant crazy hours, but at least he could work from home too.

When Seungcheol was done with work, and Jihoon finished his shift at the restaurant, they both went home to enjoy some quiet time to do what they liked. Jihoon, while reading or writing, loved looking up to see Seungcheol sketching with determination. And Seungcheol wrote cheesy love notes, either showing up on Jihoon’s arm or thrown to him on paper.

Their house, which had been approved, was in the process of being built. Which meant they were in the process of moving too. Despite their busy hours, the two took time to choose the design of their new place. And although Jihoon was okay with anything Seungcheol decided on, Jihoon appreciated how Seungcheol wanted his input on the new place.

\----------------------------------------------

During one of their last few days in their old apartment, the first place Jihoon called home in this new world, the two were quietly sitting in the living room, working on their own things. Although, Jihoon wasn’t really working on much. He was sitting behind his laptop, overthinking the decision he had just made. He knew Seungcheol would be nothing but happy for him, but it was a huge step he was making.

Honestly, telling Seungcheol wasn’t what bothered Jihoon. Jihoon knew once he put his goals into actual words he would actually have to keep them. And Jihoon took this decision seriously, to the point where he was scared to even start cause he worried of failure.

Looking at his screen, and stealing a glance at Seungcheol, and back at his screen, Jihoon knew he just had to do it. He had been working too hard to stop here. Wiping his clammy hands on his jeans, Jihoon breathed in and out. 

“Seungcheol-ah,” Jihoon said, looking over to the huched figure.

Sitting up to look at Jihoon, Seungcheol saw the small smile Jihoon had on and broke into a smile too, “Everything okay over there?”

“I’ve come to a decision,” Jihoon carefully tells him.

Getting up from his seat, Seungcheol goes to stand beside Jihoon, “And the decision is?”

Jihoon turns to him and said, “I’m going to start looking for a publishing company. The book I’ve been working on is ready.”

Seungcheol opens up his arm and Jihoon doesn’t even question it as he stands up to return the hug.

Placing a kiss on Jihoon’s head of hair, Seungcheol tells him, “I’m happy for you.”

Snuggling closer to Seungcheol’s warmth, Jihoon whispered, “Thank you.”

\----------------------------------------------

Jihoon was sitting in his new office, plotting a new story, when he realized the doubts that haunted him daily weren’t as apparent as they used to be. Even when he was showered with love everyday, Jihoon’s consciousness was always wondering how long it would last. Yet, a year after being in this new place, he was still being well looked after. 

And now, having all the dreams he shared with Seungcheol become reality, Jihoon felt at peace. 

Picking up a pen, Jihoon thought about what he wanted to write. 

_ Choi Seungcheol, my whole world, my love, my soulmate. _

He went with what his heart told him. Jihoon wanted Seungcheol to know how much he meant to him.

**Jihoonie! I’m right next door, did you want me to come visit?**

_ No :) _

_ I just wanted to tell you how much I love you. _

**This is very confusing. If you want, I can be over in a second. You know, I also love you, very much.**

_ You have made me the happiest I’ve ever been in all my life. Everything we went through was worth it, cause I have you now. _

**Hoonie Hoon, is everything okay?**

Jihoon couldn’t sit still anymore. Getting out of his chair, he bounced to the office next to his. With the door wide open, Jihoon could see Seungcheol sitting with a pen in hand. A frown was on his face as he stared at his arm.

“Hey,” Jihoon said, lightly waving as Seungcheol looked up at him.

“Ji,” Seungcheol said, blinking with confusion. Usually it was Seungcheol visiting a busy Jihoon.

Smiling, Jihoon walked over to Seungcheol, pulled back his office chair, plopped down in Seungcheol’s lap, and wrapped his arms around his neck.

“Wha-what are you doing, Ji?” Seungcheol stumbled out, flustered by the action. It doesn’t stop him from wrapping his own arms around Jihoon’s waist, to make sure he doesn’t slide off.

“Sitting in your lap,” Jihoon tells him.

“I can see that, but why?”

“I wanted to know how you are. If you are happy or not.”

“Ji, you know I love having you here. Nothing makes me happier than being able to see you, hug you, and have you sitting in my lap. I’m doing extremely well, even more so when I see you just as happy.”

“That’s good to know.”

Jihoon pulls at Seungcheol’s neck and lifts himself up to meet Seungcheol halfway. Their kiss was sweet and desperate, everything they wanted to express. 

Despite feeling unlucky in the past, Jihoon knew he didn’t have to worry anymore, he had all the luck he needed with Seungcheol.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you!! I can never stop saying those two words enough, seriously. Seeing how this story has grown and where it went, it was all thanks to the readers.   
> The author’s note is just a bunch of ramblings, so you really don’t have to read it. I just like to write my thoughts down.   
> I hope everyone is happy and doing well.


	5. Worlds Apart: Author's Note

Thank you! Thank you!!!

For all the readers, silent readers, and readers who comment, it was all thanks to you for making the story come this far. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the love the story had gotten, it wouldn’t have gotten another two chapters. So thank you!

 

I kind of loved the concept so much, I actually didn’t want to write more to it. I knew it would tear up the readers and I was prepared for it. Sitting in front of my computer, I chuckled evilly at my plans and ideas. As I wrote, I grinned about what I was writing at that moment. 

I had been wanting to write a Jicheol soulmate AU for so long. And a whatever you wrote shows up on your soulmate’s skin too. So when it was Jicheol’s day, I went for it. I knew from the very beginning it was going to be angst. And I was going to make the angst hurt. I’m evil, I know. 

I also love fantasy and sci fi, so it came easily to me that they were Worlds Apart. 

When I published the story, I honestly had no way of having them meet up. My wildly creative mind almost didn’t want it to work out, but then it actually did start working out. 

I wanted to give spoilers in my comment replies so bad. Just start spouting out everything I had planned and was already writing.

I could have had them be soulmates in another lifetime, but I didn’t want to. I’m tired of soulmates never meeting up and waiting for another lifetime. I wanted them to get each other, the ones who fell in love with each other in the first place.

Yes, I could have had one of the SVT members help Jicheol meet up, but then they couldn’t have been there for them when they were finally together. So I chose my SuJu bias. Sungmin and his wife popped up in my mind when I thought up the characters. Hence the SuJu cameos.

I also just really wanted all SVT members on one world, not jumping around. Cause that would have been painful for me. Already having Jihoon gone from them for so long was painful enough.

I was kind of worried about the third chapter. My notice (second chapter) that there was going to be a third chapter had readers/commenters anticipating a lot. I had the third chapter all written out already when I gave the notice. I worried cause there really was no big Jicheol scenes. It was all really just Jihoon Running Across the Galaxy to Find Seungcheol.

Plus, and I’m sure it was just me, but Jihoon really didn’t have any real life conversations and I wanted it to be Seungcheol for the first time. Yet it wasn’t going to work out the way I wanted it too. He had to talk to Sungmin.

I worried a lot. But I still did it anyway and published it. 

Then the most important scene was coming up. The fourth and last chapter, and it had to start out with Jicheol’s first meeting. I worried a lot about this chapter too. Cause as much as I didn’t have any idea about how they were going to meet up, I had no clue how they were going to be around each other. I went into it with no ideas for the chapter at all!

Also, I hit a wall called writer’s block. For the life of me, nothing was being written. I took that time to read, watch random things, and to refresh my mind. It helped. I finally was coming up with ideas. 

As much as I wanted to get right into fluff, cause one of the readers demanded no more angst (in a non-demanding way), there were a lot of things the two had to talk about and fix. But they love each other and fluff had to be thrown in there. So I hope it was a good mix. 

Then, the story got long. And I didn’t know how to end it and wondered if I even wanted it to end. So I worked at it and slowly fixed their issues, and got to a good point where things were almost perfect. Not everything is going to be perfect. But perfect for ending their story.

Cause all Jihoon really needed was Books, Coffee, and Luck a.k.a Choi Seungcheol.


End file.
